Reservoir Of Life
by DavidKing
Summary: Edward is back in Isabella's life, but notices she is suffering from the effects of leaving her the first time. Victoria roams the borderline of the Quileute Tribe and the Cullens. How will both sides manage to end the rogue vampire causing tension for both sides?
1. Curiosity

**Notice:**

**I do not own any of the Twilight characters. This is just a fun fictional story I put together. As of January 11th 2013, this story is currently undergoing consistent revisions, so please bare with me. I have so far taken care of chapters 1 through 4 and am working on the chapters after that.**

**Any and all reviews are greatly appreciated. As well as any critques anyone can provide.**

I could see the blue skies become shades of dark night blue as I stare at Isabella. We were both sitting in the middle of the forest in forks on a log. She was glancing at me "What is it?" I asked slightly worried. "You know your face gets better and better the more I look at you." Isabella said with a delightful smile. The wind manipulated her hair and I carassed it."Look Bella, we can't sit here forever. What would Charlie think? You're still under his watchful eyes you know." I smirked."I've had this discussion already! I've told Charlie that I am old enough to make my own decisions... but I also won't allow him to worry too much" Isabella said in realization of being older, but considerate of Charlie's feelings. She used both her hands to grab one of mine. Her warmth always beholds me and she will never know that enough.

"It's getting dark. Now I know you can't see at night... so we'll have to leave eventually." I mused.

"Oh that reminds me!" Isabella said as she stood up and fumbled in her left pocket. "What are you looking for? I curiously inquired. "You said I can't see in the dark, but you're dead wrong!" Isabella expressed as she lifted her right hand up and danced her index finger left and right. "Look what I got!" She said excitingly. I glared at her left hand, trying to decipher what the object was for. It was a cylinder object that proved to be pocket sized. My eyes narrowed and I shook my head.

"I see..."

"And now I do too!" Isabella said as she shined a flashlight in my face. "I'm pretty clever, huh?" She said while wildy shaking the light at the trees above. "I guess it can be looked at that way." I sighed. "Hey, what's wrong?" She looked a bit nervous. I stood up and pulled Isabella gently as she shined the light in my direction. "I will forever feel more guilty for leaving you every time you create moments like this. I can never be sorry enough for what I did. If only -" Isabella placed her index finger over my lips. "Stop beating yourself up over this, please. It makes me sad." She said with a serious face.

"I'm sorry." I agreed.

Isabella placed her arms around me and I returned the gesture. We hugged for a minute and then she created talking distance "Edward, promise me one thing?" She asked. I thought I've made as many promises as I could at this point, but I wouldn't argue another one. "You'll have to tell me first." I laughed, caught off guard. "Don't ever feel alone. Please come to me when ever you do... I enjoy your company too." Isabella said as she brushed the skin on my face with her hand. This was an odd moment. I've made it all too clear that she prevents me from feeling alone in this world.

"I thought our relationship brings about the company we need?" I said confused.

"I know... but I just need you to make this promise for me, please." She whispered. I let go of Isabella's waist and put her face in my hands. "You have my word." I agreed. For reasons beyond my understanding, Bella began to cry. I quickly released my grip. "Bella? ... Did I do something?" I asked with worry, unsure if I had accidently damaged her face. I grabbed her again by her waist and gazed into her tear filled eyes. "No. You didn't do... anything. I'm just happy that we're together again. It still... feels like a fantasy that any girl would dream." Isabella said as she embraced me as tight as she was able. "... You're the one fulfilling my dreams in my world of eternal damnation." I said carefully. I pulled her from me lightly and dried the tears from her eyes.

"There's no reason why you should feel like the lucky one, Bella."

She returned my gaze with a thoughtful expression I've not grown accustomed to yet as I pressed slowly towards her lips. Our kiss was much easier and I no longer felt the urge to pull away as much as times past. Suddenly a loud noise interrupted our moment. It made Isabella jump and drop the flashlight. I glared in the direction and immediately identified the problem. "Just a fallen tree. Natural causes I assure you." I smiled. She returned my smile. I picked up the flashlight and handed it to her.

"We should be getting back to Charlie now" I stated as it was much too dark to remain outside.

"Fine... Please stay with me again?" She desperately requested. "Not staying with you isn't an option anymore, you know that." I reminded her. I turned my back and Isabella knew my intention and attached herself behind me. We moving when... "Whoops! Hey wait, Edward!" She gasped. I stopped and she detached herself. I turned to her and waited for a response. "I dropped my flashlight! Charlie got me that as a gift! I have to go back and get it!" She said with panic. "You mean this one?" I lifted the pocket flashlight up, turned it on and waved it similar to the way Isabella did before. "I caught it and shut it off when you dropped it." I said with confidence. "Give it back to me!" she said happily. "When we get to Charlie's. I don't want you attracting unwanted attention with a shaky light." I nearly laughed, turning the flashlight off.

"Fine... but don't forget!" She playfully ordered. I turned my back and waited for her to reattach.

"Bella?" I said confused. "You know you're right... I can't see in the dark." She said with a sigh. I laughed and attached her in the same position as before. We arrived at Charlie's and I turned in her flashlight. "Thank you." Isabella said with a smile. "So how will it work this time, dear Bella?" I asked, curious. "You could at least say hi to Charlie and prove to him that I was with you the whole time." She poked me in the chest lightly. "That's fine. I was talking about how I enter to stay the night?" I asked. "It is better to know of my options before I react to the situation at hand." I visually inspected Charlie's house.

"Through the window of course. Charlie is still not ok with you admitting to staying the night just yet." She laughed.

I walked with Isabella towards the front door and waited for her to open it. I hesitated at the doorway, observed Charlie watching TV, and Isabella walking over to embrace him. "I'm back!" She exclaimed. "Were you with that boy?" Charlie asked her, not fond of the idea. "Yes she was sir." I answered as respectfully as possible. "You brought him in here, Bells?" Charlie stood up and looked at me with doubtful eyes as usual. "Look dad, Edward came in here as a sign of trust. To confirm I was with him the entire time." She said with an annoyed look. "Thanks for bringing her home instead of leav-" Before Charlie had a chance to finish Isabella interrupted him.

"Stop it dad! He has enough problems as it is! We've talked it through and I'm fine now." She assured him.

"Thanks." Charlie corrected his sentence for her sake. "It was my pleasure sir. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused in times past." I said truthfully. It still didn't alter the look on his face. All he did was sit back down and rummage through channels pretending to not care. "I'll catch you later, Edward" Isabella smiled. I waved with a smile and walked out through the front door. "Just be careful, Bells." I could hear Charlie remind her. "Please let it go, dad." She pleaded. I silently jumped to Isabella's window and entered before I heard her footsteps climb up. I didn't expect her to come in here first... she wasn't ready for bed, as she always wants to be. So I waited on the tip of her bed sitting upright. While waiting, I just read Charlie's furious thought patterns about me and noticed Isabella was slowly getting through to him. The door finally opened and she walked through.

"Hey, you." she said brightly.

"I see your dad is becoming less tense about me. Don't be too difficult with him. He's right to judge me that way after what I put you through." I admitted with traces of regret. "I'll be as hard as necessary, Edward. I know." She agreed. "Is there any particular reason why you needed me to stay tonight?" I asked despite not ever needing a reason to be around Isabella. "Can't I just want your presence? Or do you automatically need to be aware of the situation?" She said roughly. "I'm not complaining... I just needed to know if there was a reason." I corrected. She walked to her bed and jumped into the covers.

"Well now... you should get some sleep. You'll need it as a human." I reminded.

"I can't hear you unless you're this close to me." She tapped her hand a few inches over on her bed. I moved quickly and placed her hand on my chest. "Better?" I asked. "Very much so." she embraced me. I gently moved her hair around as she looked at me. "Hey, Edward?" She asked. "What is it?" I said curious. "I have a set of questions for you, can I ask them? Please?" She pleaded. "You should probably focus on sleep." I tried to sway her efforts to no avail. "Not until I ask these questions, ok?" Isabella didn't seem to budge on this matter, so stubborn. One of the many things I love about her.

"Dare I continue to argue? Shoot."

"These aren't really pressing questions, Edward. So don't look so tense ok?" She looked at me and laughed lightly. I wasn't aware of my facial expression until she mentioned it. "That makes it a little less problematic, I guess." I said with a slight smile. Isabella sat up slightly and circled my chest with her finger. "What are you thinking Edward?" She asked with sincere curiosity. "Initially, if you keep circling my chest like that I will catch fire." I joked. "Please be serious." She sighed. "I'm thinking about a lot of things Bella, is there any way you can be more specific?" I asked. "Just tell me something that you want to talk about" Isabella said with a serious expression. I studied her expression and answered in response. "About your future." I said with a slight grim expression. She stopped circling my chest and sat up completely.

"My future? How has that worked in your head?" She was not looking in my direction, so I was unable to assume her feelings.

"I'm always going through scenarios on how things would turn out if certain things didn't happen." I stayed lying down but I folded my arms behind my head. "Certain things?" She turned to look at me with curious eyes. I sat up and pulled her towards my shoulder lightly. "Like if you never asked me about becoming a Cullen… literally." I said seriously. "You can't change my mind about that, Edward." She turned her head and sorted strands of her hair. "I never said I wanted to. I know how serious you are about that. You wanted to know my thoughts and this is what I'm thinking." I carefully stated because it seemed like Isabella was becoming irritated. "Can we change this subject, please?" She pleaded. "As you wish. Is there anything else you want to know?" I asked. Isabella turned to look at me again with a smile. "How's everyone been?" She said maintaining her expression. "By everyone, you do mean US right?" I asked. "Of course." She calmly assured.

"They are all doing well... except for Rosalie." I answered.

Isabella's smile vanished as she gazed closer to my face. "What's wrong with her?" She said curiously. "After the confusion she caused which resulted me being in Italy, she feels compelled to be more polite towards you now." I said carefully. She took my hand and looked down at our hold. "Please remind her it's not her fault every chance you get. I was the one…" She stopped herself and went quiet. "I know it wasn't her fault as much as it was my own. I jumped to conclusions and I know what I did was stupid. Don't blame yourself." I stressfully stated. Isabella looked up at me with the saddest expression. "…I love you so much." She changed the subject quickly. "I love you too." I smiled and kissed her lightly. "It looks like we hit another brick wall with my memories, doesn't it?" I said seriously. "Can we lay back down? I'm starting to feel humanly sleepy." She joked. We both lay at the same time and she embraced me again.

"Get some sleep, Bella." I whispered.

She gave me a tired smile and closed her eyes. I kissed her forehead and lie in wait before she wakes once more. As I stared at Isabella's calm sleep in usual fascination, I heard footsteps coming upstairs and knew that Charlie intended to enter. I moved away from Isabella as quietly as possible, so as to not alarm her or Charlie and I quickly entered her closet. Charlie opened the door soon after and respectfully checked to see if she was sleeping. From his thought, he didn't want her to be awake. It seemed he was afraid of direct confrontation in regards to emotional support or general fatherly duties. Of course he was slowly improving upon those faults, but his separation from Isabella interferred with any consistency of being a father. Charlie quietly approached her bedside. He brushed Isabella's hair with his hand.

"Bells… I can't stand you leaving yourself open again to that boy. I hope you grow more cautious. I can't bare the thought of you being miserable again because of this boy's decision. Please be more careful honey." He whispered.

It was obvious his intentions weren't meant to awaken her… he was only admitting his stress over her well being. Hoping that somehow her subconscious heard and will process his words. Reality attacked my memories and emotions once again. Did I cause that much damage with my decision? I thought it was for the better, but it only seemed to have caused more harm than good. Charlie kissed Isabella's forehead and walked slowly out of the room. I returned to my position next to her on the bed and felt bad for what I had done to her. I gazed at Isabella and couldn't help but repeat the words "I'm sorry, Bella."


	2. Nightmare

**Notice:**

**I do not own any of the Twilight characters. This is just a fun fictional story I put together. As of January 11th 2013, this story is currently undergoing consistent revisions, so please bare with me. I have so far taken care of chapters 1 through 4 and am working on the chapters after that.**

As I monitored Charlie's thoughts and held Isabella near me, I knew he slumbered when his mind became incoherent with reality. I removed my focus from Charlie and admired Isabella's peaceful resting expression. In a moment she began to mumble words almost perfectly "No... Edward…" She said with a slight grim expression. Held back by my inability to read her mind, I eagerly awaited her next words. "Edward… not again. I can't… go through this again… please." Her eyes tightened and her facial expression worsened. "Edward…" Isabella reached over my chest. I guided my hand to hers and she gripped me as much as she was able.

"Please… stay with me… please." She began breathing heavier, her heart rate increasing in what I gathered to be panic of losing... me.

Remorsefully keeping my attention only to Isabella… I suddenly caught the sound of footsteps much too late as they were already at the front of her room door. It wasn't possible that Charlie was behind the door because his mind was unaware of being in that position. The door opened and Charlie stood, facing our direction. I was certainly sure saw me next to Isabella, but his eyes were not open. Unable to indentify the reasons behind this, I observed his standing curiously. Isabella kept a firm grip on my hand, visually apparent with the discoloration of her knuckles. Tension obvious in her hold. I didn't want to hurt her by pulling my hand away, but Charlie was standing in front of us. I was aware that he may wake up at any moment, despite that, I had given up and awaited his surprise. He took a step forward, tripped, and caught himself with a waking eye. He glanced up towards me and Isabella instantly released her hold on my hand. For a fraction of a second, Charlie saw me before I disappared into Isabella's closet. "Wha-?" He grumbled. He rubbed his eyes and searched the area without movement. Finding no one after attempting to refresh his vision, he just shut the door and dragged himself back to his room muttering.

"Was that boy there just now? No way… I'm tired." Charlie said in a fatigued voice.

I moved back to Isabella's side and she was still under the spell of her nightmare, vebalizing almost every step. "Edward… where are you?" Her voice struck my heart when I realized I left her life this. I sat next to her and questioned if I should awaken her. It was still dark out with an outline of blue on the horizon, so awakening her seemed to be a conflicted decision. She quickly rolled to her right side, gripping the sheets of the bed. I tried to ease her by grabbing her arm gently. Isabella's body shook and she instinctively sat up with wide eyes, covering her mouth. "Bella?" I asked concerned by her sudden awakening. She removed her hand from her mouth and looked at me with an emotionless face. We both remained sitting upright on her bed, looking at each other in silence.

"Edward?" She said in disbelief.

Tears started to fill her eyes as she began to cry. Before having the opportunity to initiate an embrance, her arms were around me. It seemed she was searching my entire upper body to ensure I was really there. "Edward!" Isabella said in distressed voice. "I would not dare leave you again. It was just a nightmare." I said as I pressed away from her so I was able to see her face. Charlie didn't seem alarmed by her abrupt voice, as he did not awake. She slowly began to compose herself. "…How did you know about my nightmare?" Isabella whispered as I held her by her shoulders. She didn't make eye contact with me, just stared at the space between us. "You mumble in your sleep, remember?" I reminded her. "Oh… right." She said in bitter agreement.

"I'm sorry for being the culprit of your nightmare, Bella." I gazed into her eyes with sincerity, feeling truly apologetic.

Isabella gripped both of my arms with hers. "No. It was just a nightmare… right?" She said with caution, unable to differ reality from her nightmare. I was astonished at her doubt in me because of the nightmare, but I wasn't surprised by it. "Just a nightmare. I will never leave you again. You are everything to me." I admitted with sorrow in my voice. "Can you let me go, please?" She said while looking directly in my eyes, pleading. I hadn't realized how stiff my grip was. "Of course." I agreed. I let her go and she embraced me once more. This embrace felt different as it did not seem to be of our natural embraces. It was as if she reunited with me for the first time. It gave off a wave of abandonment that was unmistakable. "I'm sorry Edward… it felt so real. Please let me hold you like this." She said with her face behind my head.

"I understand, Bella." I caressed her hair and waited with her for as long as she needed.

We stayed in this position in silence for several minutes. I gently pulled her to face me directly and kissed her forehead. She knew of my intentions of calming her with a kiss to the lips. "No Edward… wait." She said hesitant. "If there's something I did wrong just now." I said confused. "No you didn't do anything wrong… I'm just not ready for this yet." She corrected me. I knew she hinted at her always wanting to freshen up before we became this close. "I can wait." I smiled. We broke our hug and she stood up from the bed. "Charlie's still asleep. In case you're wondering." I told her. "Ok… I'll try to be silent." She whispered. She proceeded to walk towards the door. She opened the door, froze, and turned back to look at me with worried eyes. "I'm not going anywhere." I assured her with a smile. She returned my smile and disappeared from the room. I got up and gazed outside Isabella's window and seen it was shady blue outside.

"Maybe it was best that she awakened herself. I should have freed her from the nightmare sooner." I said to myself, regretting my decision to allow it to press on.

I assumed it was perfect timing for her to be awake, but my enthusiasm halted when I remembered her reasons for waking up. I could hear the water running in the other room. I ignored that and tapped into Charlie's thoughts once again. I've never pried into someones mind this long without an agenda. It was beyond awkward to pay attention to his incoherent thought patterns. After some time, paying attention to Charlie was irritating and I blocked out everything familiar. Out of instincts I caught the thought patterns of someone very familiar outside of Isabella's window. "Alice." I said, greeting with slight irritation. "Nothing gets passed you." She said. "Nor you." I joked. I didn't need to open the window because Alice already made her way in. "So, is she ok?" She asked with concern. "I'm not surprised you knew about what happened." I said with annoyance.

"Is she?" Alice said, ignoring my comment.

"She seems to be fine now. It was just a nightmare." I said, reassuring Alice... and myself. "All I was able to see was Bella struggling while asleep. My vision cut off after that. I'm going to check on her anyway." She said with a smile. "Is there something about my word that has lead you to believe otherwise?" I asked, irritated at the thought. "No. But I want to be there for her too." Alice crossed her arms. Returning footsteps broke the silence between Alice and me as Bella entered the room. "Alice?" She looked surprised. "Hey Bella. I came by to check on you. Are you ok?" Alice skipped to Isabella's side and began inspecting her. "It was just a nightmare… I'm ok now." She said confused as she followed Alice's actions with her eyes. "Well, that's great. I had to be sure of my vision." She smiled. "Are you done yet, Alice?" I asked blankly. "I'm done!" Alice lightly pushed Bella in her arm. "Could you be a bit more quiet?" I said pointing in the direction Charlie was slumbering.

"Oops." She didn't break her smile.

Isabella tapped Alice's shoulders and she turned around to look at her. "Hmm?" Alice said with concern as Isabella embraced her. "Thanks for your concern, Alice. I appreciate it." She said with sincerity. "No problem. You're like my sister now. I have to look after you too!" Alice roared while keeping her voice proper to the current state of things and returned Isabella's hug. "If you don't mind, Bella and I have things to do." I said with a sigh. "Oh right… relationship stuff." Alice joked. She walked towards the window, turned around, waved to Isabella, and then disappeared. "Her cheery attitude never fails to bring my spirits up." Isabella said with a smile. "She does almost the exact opposite in my case." I said rubbing my forehead in frustration. "I'm sorry if I was a bother before." She said as sincere as she was able. I only had a short few words I could say to help us move on.

"It never happened."

"Right." Isabella smiled. She approached and pulled my shirt lightly. "So… what do we have planned today?" She asked with curious eyes. "I'll be outside your front door, knocking." I said with a half smile. "What? Why?" Her eyes widened, still under the partial spell of her nightmare. "Charlie's awake. I want my arrival to look natural." I said. "Oh right… I'll be sure to answer it." She noted with a smile. A knock pushed lightly against Isabella's door. "Hey Bells? Are you awake in there?" Charlie asked half-awake. "I'm already knocking, Bella." I whispered and went out the window. "Yes I am. I'll make breakfast as soon as I can!" She said brightly. I started to knock at Charlie's front door and could make out what was being said very clearly. "Someone's at the door? Right no-?" Charlie said in the middle of a yawn while walking downstairs.

"I'll get it, dad!" Isabella said abnormally excited.

Her eagerness must have been influenced by the nightmare? Charlie's footsteps were heavier and sluggish, so I knew he made it down already. Isabella's footsteps were quickly reaching the end of the stairs and jogging to the front door. "Hey Edward!" She pretended to greet me as if we weren't together last night. "Who is it, Bells?" Charlie asked only half concerned. He was already watching television and was more fixated on that and yawning at the time. "It's Edward. Can he come in, dad?" She asked Charlie with a hint of begging in her voice. "This kid just doesn't give up.' Charlie mumbled. "If it's too much trouble, I can leave sir." I admitted, responding to his thoughts. Charlie's mind was shooing me away, but his words were carefully chosen to benefit Isabella. "No, you can come in. Bells seems to believe you're sincere about making amends." He said with stress in his voice. "Thanks dad! I knew you'd come around!" She said with a smile. If only she could read his mind. "Thank you sir. I'll try to be of little annoyance." I assured him.

"You being here is annoying, kid." Charlie's thoughts stressed.

She grabbed my hand and guided me towards the kitchen. "Have you ever seen me make eggs and bacon before?" She laughed lightly. "No. But is the process long?" I asked generally concerned. Isabella laughed and pointed at the kitchen chair. I proceeded to sit down and track her movements. She was rummaging through the fridge and pulled out a tray filled with something vaguely familiar. She looked at my confused expression. "Has it really been this long since you've seen eggs?" She asked concerned and surprised. "Those ARE eggs?" I said completely perplexed. I cannot remember the last time I have seen eggs. Isabella laughed again, placed the tray on the table, and provided me with one egg. "Do you at least remember how to extract the liquid and ditch the shell?" She asked. Before I could answer, I already cracked the egg's shell on the top by checking to see how solid it was.

"It's supposed to do that, right?" I said confused and a bit worried.

"There's a certain way to break into them without mixing the shells with… the liquid. I'll take it from here, Edward." She smiled at me and I handed her the egg. "You're not going to make me eat the final product, are you?" I asked worried. "No way! Why would I feed you dirt?" She joked. "Thanks." I smiled. Time escaped me as I observed Isabella cook the food. She was preparing a plate for Charlie and herself, still smiling at me. "It's done, dad. I'm bringing your plate now." She said as she lifted Charlie's plate. I noticed a slight mishap. Isabella forgot to take a proper step forward and almost tripped before I caught her, stopping the plate from falling to the ground. "Thanks. I forgot how bad I am with balance." She laughed. "It smells great, Bells." Charlie noted while being very attentive to the television. I let go of her and she handed off the plate to Charlie within seconds. I waited for her to come back into the kitchen. Isabella walked in and was staring at her plate before I interrupted her.

"What's the point in having a kitchen if your dad doesn't even use it?" I said gesturing toward his direction with irritation.

Isabella looked at me for a moment, procession what was said, and laughed. "He always gets like this when television is involved. It's hard to pull him to a place without it." She whispered and laughed. She proceeded to grab her plate and sit down on the table. Before she bit into her food, she looked at me. "Yes?" I answered her gaze. Isabella pointed at the chair across the table. I sat down and she began to eat her… food. "Want some?" She joked. "Unless you drink some deer blood." I returned the joke. She squinted at me and smiled. Isabella finally finished her food and placed her plate in the sink. "Dad. I'm heading out with Edward." She said while washing the dishes. Charlie ceased his resistance for the time being. "That's fine Bells. Just be careful, ok?" Charlie's mind pinned that to me as well. He was still unable to trust me and I didn't expect to earn it back so easily. I got up from the chair, but kept my view out of Charlie's sight. "Whenever you're ready, Bella." I said calmly. "Right now's good." She exclaimed. Isabella grabbed my hand and guided me towards the front door. "Remember Bells, careful." Charlie noted while looking at me. Isabella turned to Charlie, a look of stress apparent.

"Dad." Was all she said before we left the house.


	3. Aftermath

**Notice:**

**I do not own any of the Twilight characters. This is just a fun fictional story I put together. As of January 11th 2013, this story is currently undergoing consistent revisions, so please bare with me. I have so far taken care of chapters 1 through 4 and am working on the chapters after that.**

As we departed Charlie's house, Isabella closed the door behind us. Before we went any further she suddenly froze, her head looking in the direction of her clothes. I stared at her in confusion. "Oh no!" She said worried, looking up at me immediately. "What is the problem?" I asked. "This isn't what I wanted to wear today!" The idea of wearing her current attire troubled her. "I don't have a problem with it." I stated as reassuringly as I was able. "I have to go back in and change. I have to!" She pleaded. "It you must. I will be here when you are done."I agreed as it was not worth the battle. "I'll only be a few minutes…" Isabella stated, seeming unsure of herself. I was content with waiting however long she needed, but I had to inform her of my intention as well.

"Bella, I must change too. I'm faster than you and I will return within minutes." I told her with confidence.

"Ok…" She gave off the impression of worry. For a moment, I had forgotten about her nightmare. "Forget what I said. I will wait here and we will go to change my attire together." I assured her. She smiled at me and entered Charlie's house. "Back already?" Charlie asked with mixed emotions. Some of confusion and relief, hoping she changed her mind about leaving with me. "No. I just forgot something." She admitted without full details. I desired to bend my words about waiting and jumped up to Isabella's window. She entered her room and went through her closet. It seemed she was trying to create havok in her closet due to the way she was moving her clothing items. I assumed she was trying to hurry herself. I was amused at the thought. I knocked on the window and she hit her head on the closet door. "Ouch!" Isabella froze in the anticipation of pain.

"I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" I said as I entered her room.

"You said you would wait outside, Edward." She said while rubbing her head. "Are you all right? You didn't hit your head too hard, did you?" Worry obvious in my tone. "It's not that bad. Just made me a little mad." She seemed to be fine, some pain still apparent. "Are you not happy I deliberately bent my words to be here in your room?" I smiled at her. She returned my smile and walked up to me. "I'm happy with your decision... for the most part" She said still smiling. "Is there anything I can do to speed up this search?" I asked wanting to assist in any way possible. "I don't know if you know much about the way I like to dress." She said confused. "Well, I do know that it is cold out and will be cloudy all day." I glanced towards the window. "That does narrow my options, thanks." Isabella nodded in agreement. "You'd better get searching then." I ordered lightly.

"Oh, right! You're slowing me down." Isabella mused.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Fast. I won't hold you back anymore." I performed a mock surrender. She ducked back into the closet and was sorting through her options again. I paced back towards her bed and sat upright. She pulled out 4 different pants, 4 different shirts, 4 different sweaters, and 2 kinds of jackets. "Are you going to wear all of this?" I asked curiously. "No… these are my options. I'm going to try them out." She answered while presenting a puzzled look on her face. "Do you want me to step out?" I said seriously. "No. You goof. I'm going to the bathroom. I have no mirrors in here." Isabella laughed. "So did you want me to wait in here or back outside?" I asked. "Outside's fine. Don't bend your words again, ok? I actually want to see you waiting outside this time." She said seriously. "We are in agreement. I'll be outside waiting." I said smiling. "Promise? I don't want another surprise injury." She rubbed her head as an example.

"Promise." I said in agreement.

I was outside again and returned to my place near the front door. I heard the doorknob turn and knew instantly Charlie intended to speak with me. I would not avoid him. I leaned against the house to the right of the door, facing towards his vehicle. As he made his exit, his eyes searched for my presence. His glare became obvious instantaneously."No excuses." He adjusted his badge. He was beginning to be of an annoyance himself, but I suppressed that thought and nodded in agreement. Charlie diverted his attention inside. "Bye Bells!" Charlie yelled. "Bye dad!" She said in response. Closing the door behind him, he proceeded to ignore my presence and marched to his vehicle. While Charlie was backing out, he shot me a look that indicated distrust and left. Isabella turned the doorknob, walked out, and began searching for me as Charlie did. I preferred this search over the previous moment. Her eyes found mine. She seemed relieved as she turned to shut the door, locked it, and resume staring at me.

"I got an outfit!" She smiled.

Her attire consisted of a white turtle neck sweater under a gray jacket and blue jeans. I approached her, smiled, and embraced her. "So it's time to pay a visit to my place then." I pointed in the direction of my car. "Hey… can I drive?" She asked me with begging eyes. "You want to drive my car?" I was shocked at the idea as it appeared very random. She observed my confusion for a moment and wrapped her arms behind my neck. "Pleeeease?" She said with intentions in her eyes. I find I am unable to resist this part of her... and she may have known this. "Just this once. But have you forgotten what you are now ready for?" I reminded. "Huh?" Isabella looked puzzled again, it was obvious she completely forgot what I waited for. I kissed her lips and she gasped soon after. "I think… I can recall now." She looked dizzy. I held her steady until she regained her composure. "Now then. We can go." I held the keys up in plain view. She placed her hand underneath the keys and I allowed gravity to give them to her.

"Thank you!" Isabella smiled as we both began to walk towards my transportation.

I rushed to the driver side door and she gave me a grim look. I smiled and opened the door for her. She laughed a bit assumed control of the driver's seat. I sealed her position and entered through the passenger side. "Of course you are aware that you are able to go faster than 50 miles an hour?" I almost laughed, but resorted to a mocking smile. Bella turned to me with an irritated look. "I know." She said sharply as she revved the engine. She quickly backed out of the driveway and presented promise until we began to move forward. I was beyond impatient at this point as the speedometer read 40 miles an hour. "I recall saying you could go faster, Bella." I said with a sigh. Isabella glanced at me and shifted her attention back to the road. "I'm not speed crazed. I wanted you to experience what it's like to be driven… normally." She said with a serious expression.

"Human drive? I will allow this, but as a favor to you." I said reluctantly.

"Thanks." She smiled while remaining focused on the road. Observing her face indicated contentment as the drive continued. Some time passed before Isabella yawned and shut her eyes for only a second. "Bored of your own driving?" I said with a smile. She didn't respond, only keeping her focus on the road. It seemed she was struggling to keep attentive to the road in front of her."Bella?" She still didn't respond. Isabella's arms started to loosen on the steering wheel and her eyes began to narrow, her body seemingly shutting down. "Bella!" I yelled as we dangerously approached the passing trees. Her hand slipping off pulled us towards the right. I grabbed the steering wheel before she collapsed. I quickly moved her to the passenger side and placed myself in the drivers seat. I stopped the car on the side of the road and immediately attempted to wake her up.

"Bella! Bella!" I said loudly in alarm.

She wasn't responding to being shook. I drove to the hospital as quickly as my my vehicle allowed. I eagerly watched her for signs of movement, but there were no changes during the drive. We arrived at the hospital, the brakes locking as I pulled to a stop. I placed Isabella in my arms and rushed into the hospital. Carlisle was standing at the front desk, holding a chart of a patient. He was immediately aware that I caused the noise from my vehicle. "Carlisle!" I yelled. He saw Isabella in my arms. "What happened to her?" He demanded calmly. "I don't know… she just collapsed on the way over to our house." I explained. "Get her into a vacant room, Edward." Carlisle ordered. I took her to the nearest empty room and watched helplessly as I lay her on the bed. Carlisle placed his chart down at the front desk and told the nurse to hold onto it for him. He moved past me and tended to Isabella. "Let's see what we have here." Carlisle began to examine her. I took a step back signaling to Carlisle that I knew I was unable to help.

"You say she just collapsed? Is there anything else you can tell me before this occurred?" He glanced at me for a moment before tending to her again.

"She... had a nightmare before we left." I said with hesitation. "That would explain why she appears to be very tired right now." He was looking under her eyelid. "What are you talking about?" I asked confused. "Her nightmare must have conflicted with her sleep." Carlisle said as he stopped examining Isabella and focused on me. "It was just one nightmare." I remained confused. "This is most likely not her first nightmare, Edward." He gazed down at her, seeming to feel sympathetic. I could not respond. I reflected back on leaving her life and felt guilty again. I caused this by my thoughtless actions. I break apart inside every time I remind myself on what I have done to her. It pained me so much to know I am responsible... the one sworn to protect her. Carlisle could see the despair on my face. "Is something the matter?" Carlisle responded to my expression. "You said her nightmares could have been ongoing. Her nightmare today…" I cut myself off. Carlisle waited for me to resume.

"It was about the time when we decided to leave forks. Leaving her behind… Her nightmare surrounded me doing that to her again." I said angry with myself.

Carlisle nodded. "Her dreams seem to revolve around your disappearance? That makes sense considering it would be a very traumatic experience for her." He said while gazing at Isabella. "Her condition will improve given the circumstances. She is going to be fine. I suggest you take her home. I recommend she gets plenty of sleep today." Carlisle said with a serious tone. I couldn't respond. I felt like I had broken her in so many ways. The only thing I did was nod. Isabella grunted and her eyes opened. "Edward?" She said with surprise. "Yes, Bella?" I was still under my own spell of regret, my tone plain. "What happened?" She said confused. Before I could answer, Carlisle intervened. "It is apparent that your nightmares have deprived you of sleep, Bella." He stated confidently. "My nightmares…" She seemed to agree. "Which caused your faint behavior. You'll be fine as long as you sleep more often and worry less." Carlisle turned his attention towards me, silently suggesting I assist.

"I'm so stupid for letting myself get carried away like this." She looked unhappy with herself.

I shook my head in disagreement. "No Bella, none of this was your fault." I said walking up to her. She didn't have a response. Her attention focused on me as I approached. Carlisle observed his watch. "I've got other patients needing my attention. Take her home, Edward." Carlisle ordered and quickly left the room. He had several patients with various conditions needing close monitoring, so I understood his haste. Isabella grabbed my hand and I helped her up. "You drive this time… please no speeding." She said still in a tired state. "Yes." I agreed with a smile. We made it to my vehicle, I sat her in the passenger side, and I made my way into the driver seat. "I'm sorry if I ruined your day." She said while holding my arm lightly. "I'm sorry I ruined your life." I couldn't look directly at her at that moment, I felt immense shame. She leaned her head on my arm. "Don't worry about it, Edward. I'll get through this with you by my side again." She said with sincerity in her voice.

"I promise I will do everything to make you better again." I kissed her hair.

Isabella fell asleep on my arm during our return drive. My emotions were conflicted and the memories of leaving her haunted my thoughts. "We're here." I stated. Bella awoke, weakly pushed herself from my arm slowly, and leaned her head on the headrest. I hurried out and opened her door. She slowly pulled herself out of the vehicle and did not seem she could stand on her own. I grabbed her before she could hurt herself and shut the car door. "…I must really be tired." She said with a forced smile. I picked her up in my arms and walked her to the front door. I set her down so she could unlock the door. When she did I lifted her on my arms again, entered the house, shut the door, and took her upstairs. "Edward?" She said curiously. "What is it?" I asked eagerly. "I need to change. I can do that at least." She forced a smile again. "Fine." I knew Isabella's night outfit choice so I set her down and quickly gathered what she likes to wear. "Thanks…" She took it to the bathroom and I waited outside the door. A loud pound was heard from within the bathroom. Neglecting her condition was another mistake I've made.

"Bella!" I said loudly as I forced the door open.

Her eyes were open but she was sitting on the floor leaning her head on the wall behind her. She only removed her jacket. "Forget about getting ready. You need rest." I said seriously as I walked up to her and pulled her up. "But…" She tried to argue but she was much too tired to do so. "No arguments. Let's go." I commanded. She allowed me to move her towards her bed. I placed her upright on the bed for a moment. "Do you have a shirt underneath that sweater?" I did not want her burning up in her sleep. "Yes... I do." She could have been practically sleeping upright. "Do you mind if I remove your sweater, madam? I do not want you burning up." I formally requested. "It's ok... I can do that..." She slowly slipped out of her turtle neck sweater, revealing a white V neck T-shirt. "Ok Bella. Lay down." I ordered carefully. "I want you... next to me" She managed to say. Her request was not necessary as I was already next to her. Her attention to her surroundings appeared almost non-existent. "Please sleep, Bella. I will not go anywhere, remember that. I love you." I smiled as much as I could. I had to make it clear and try to enforce a pleasant dream. "Thank you, Edward. I love you…" Isabella said as she fell asleep, lightly embracing me as I held her.


	4. Arrival

**Notice:**

**I do not own any of the Twilight characters. This is just a fun fictional story I put together. As of January 11th 2013, this story is currently undergoing consistent revisions, so please bare with me. I have so far taken care of chapters 1 through 4 and am working on the chapters after that.**

Calmness was all I observed whilst Isabella slumbered. I gazed in admiration of how peaceful she slept. Several hours later I heard a vehicle approached the lot outside and knew it was Charlie. He was not aware that we were here, so I knew he would not be a bother in Isabella's room. Examining his thoughts, he only intended to watch more television and observe the time. I debated with my thoughts. Should I alarm him to our presence or just wait until Isabella awoke? It was no contest that I should alert Charlie due to Isabella sleeping under different circumstances. I wanted to avoid getting her into more trouble after the foolishness in Italy. Quietly, I parted from Isabella and vacated her room. I desired to assert that I would descend downstairs, as such I shut the door to make sure it surpassed his television volume.

"Bells, I thought you wanted more free time? Why are you back so early?" Charlie said loudly with a hint of surprise. I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm not Bella." I said as calmly as I could. Charlie jumped from his chair, dropping the remote to the ground. "What are you doing here? Where's Bella!" Charlie demanded. He began walking towards me and I was not going to tolerate psychical behavior. "Before you become unnecessarily aggressive, I think you should know Bella is asleep upstairs." I did not move from my stationary positon. Charlie let out a sigh of relief and walked past me towards the stairs. "Are you not willing to hear why, sir?" I offered up no expression. "Spill it." Charlie demanded as he stopped a few feet to my right side. "She has sleep deprivation. Carlisle asserted it was due to her nightmares and suggested she gets plenty of sleep today." I said as calmly as I could at this moment. His thoughts indicated he has no problem placing the blame on me as opposed to his daughter.

"I'll see for myself." He stated not trusting my word.

I've never had someone negatively impact me quite as often, but for Isabella's sake I suppressed my emotions. I did not follow him up. Instead I leaned on the front door and crossed my arms in waiting. It wasn't hard to eavesdrop on anything Charlie had to say from here. He opened Isabella's room door and all I could do was listen. "Bells…" Charlie said with a depressed whisper. He did not enter the room because he did not wish to awaken her, so he closed the door and made his way towards the stairs. He halted at the top of the stairs and looked at me in slight surprise. "You still here, kid?" Annoyance obvious in his expression. "Pardon me for worrying, sir." My irritation and frustration also becoming apparent. "Your worry is not necessary now. You can leave." Charlie pointed towards the door behind me. I really wanted to strike something at that point, but I just turned my back and grabbed the doorknob.

"Thanks for bringing her back." Charlie said with sincerity before I left.

"Sure." I said quickly as I left the house. I entered my car, started it up and drove a short distance. I parked my car far enough to be out of sight and made haste to Isabella's window. Before I entered, I checked Charlie's thoughts and he had no intention of entering her room for the moment. I quickly placed myself next to Isabella again as she still rested soundly. All the irritation brought on by Charlie vanished when I admired Bella's peaceful expression once more. Imperative that I keep my skin away from hers to prevent awakening her, so I just remained perfectly still, keeping my focus on Charlie's thoughts at random intervals. Apart from mixed emotions of hating me more and grateful I returned his daughter in one piece, there was not much to his thoughts. A few hours later and the cloudy day began to turn into a cloudy night. Isabella finally made a noise and slowly began to sit up.

"How do you feel?" I asked curious.

She turned to look at me with a slight smile. "The best sleep I've had yet." She said while rubbing her eyes. "An even better reality to wake up to." Ceased rubbing her eyes and placed one hand on my arm. "I think you ought to freshen up." I said with a half smile. "Um… why?" Isabella said confused. "I'm trying my best to not kiss you." I said keeping up the smile. "Oh, right!" Bella jumped up from the bed and made haste to the bathroom. Charlie seemed to have heard her anxious footsteps. He muted the television and created complete silence. "Bells?" Charlie said while planning to go upstairs. "I'm in the bathroom, dad!" Bella said as loudly as she could. "Come down here when you're done, Bells." He ordered lightly. Charlie changed his mind about ascending upstairs and removed mute from the television. It was apparent my wait would be longer thanks to the astounding efforts of Charlie. Soon after Isabella seemed finished with her time in the bathroom as I heard her exit. I knew she would pass by the door and go see Charlie downstairs, but she stopped and knocked lightly on her room door.

"I'll be right back." She whispered.

I smiled without her knowledge and she descended down the stairs. Charlie muted the television again as she finally arrived in the living room. "What happened out there, Bells?" Charlie asked as if he didn't know. Likely hearing her side of the story since he lacked trust in me. She was silent for a moment before she answered. "I'm having sleep issues." She said keeping it brief. "I'm told." Charlie admitted to knowing already. "Who told you?" She said surprised. "That kid, Edward." Charlie replied blankly. "You talked to him without me around? You were mean to him, weren't you?" She sounded annoyed. "Not in the slightest, Bells." He lied. It was amusing how he would so easily try and pass off a lie. "So you actually talked to him then?" Bella asked curiously. "I kept it short, Bells. I don't like to talk to that kid much." Charlie admitted. "So you were being rude then?" Bella said with a hint of irritation.

"I didn't like him in the house alone with you, Bells." Charlie said directly.

"Dad, Edward has respect for me and your opinion of him. He wouldn't do something to me without my permission." She said confidently, and she was right. I would not dare do anything she did not want. "That's just it Bells, you're young…" Charlie said cutting himself off. "Are we going to have the birds and bees talk, dad?" Bella asked with a hint of sarcasm. "I guess not." He said avoiding the subject. "I can handle it dad. I'm 18 for crying out loud. Please loosen the chains in my favor." She laughed. Charlie didn't return the laugh. "How are you feeling anyway, Bells?" He changing the subject. "I'm fine now. You know Edward's helping me get through this. Please don't push him away with attitude, dad." She pleaded. "I'll try to keep it until control, but I'm not letting my guard down and you know why." Charlie said with anger in his voice. "Do you want me to make dinner, dad?" Bella asked sincerely while changing the subject.

"No thanks, Bells. I've taken care of that already. You should go back to sleep." Charlie noted.

"Oh, take-out." She said surprised. The television was noisy again and Isabella ascended upstairs. She turned the doorknob and entered the room. I half smiled as she returned my expression. There was no difference in the way she dressed because she was in a hurry to get to me before Charlie called her down. So I assume she freshened up by other means. "You two have such lovely conversations about me." I said smiling. She caught the joke and her smile vanished. She turned around to shut the door, then walked in my direction. I got up from the bed and counter approached her. "Hit me with your best shot." She joked. I got close enough to lightly pull her towards me for my promised kiss. Her breathing raced and her heart rate shot up again. I pulled away slowly as she placed her hand over her chest to control herself. "I need to sit down… for a moment." Bella said with a slight smile as I guided her to the bed. I sat her down on the edge of the bed and perched next to her.

"Tell me something, Edward." She gazed into my eyes curiously

"Yes?" I mirrored her curious expression. "Do you really respect my opinion on… what I talked about with Charlie?" She seemed slightly embarrassed. I knew what she was referring to. "Of course." I replied with a smile. "Now answer me one more question." She was smiling in response to my previous answer. "All right." I said, anticipating another question. "Was my dad rude when I was sleeping?" Her expression wary. "I could provide you a direct quote that nearly made me break something in your house. Most notably your front door." I answered calmly. "Tell me." Her expression eager. "Your worry is not necessary now. You can leave." I mimicked Charlie's voice. Isabella turned her head as if she can see right through to Charlie. She glanced back at me. "I'm sorry." Her hands clenched in frustration. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for Bella. You didn't say that and Charlie is just being protective." I grabbed her clenched hand. She released her hold and wrapped my hand around hers.

"I'll make up for this tomorrow, Edward." She whispered.

"Don't worry about it Bella. You're making up for it by being with me right now." I half smiled. She let go of my hands and embraced me without a response. She lightly pulled herself back, inches from me. "I love you." Isabella said with sincerity. "I love you too." I responded caressing the side of her face with the back of my hand. I proceeded to kiss her lightly and pulled away slowly. Despite all of the things I've put her through, I'm humble she still has a place for me in her life. I could never tell her this because she disagrees with me entirely. She feels like the humbled one and the only way I can express my disagreement would be through actions. "Do you still feel tired?" I asked curiously. "Not really." Isabella swiped her hair with her hand. I deeply breathed in her scent. "Lovely." I smiled. She looked at me confused and then smiled as well.

"It's only 6:30 Bella. I know you have to be hungry at this point." I continued to smile.

Isabella held her stomach and came to the realization that she may be hungry. "I think I am." She looked slightly confused. "You have to be. For the time being you're human." I laughed lightly. She looked at me with a bit of a frown and stood up. "Where are you going?" I asked curious. "To make myself something to eat." She cheerily stated. "I was suggesting we go out to eat, Bella." I cleared any confusion. "Are you kidding me? Didn't my dad kick you out?" Her confused expression becoming obvious. "I'm sure you can work something out." I stood up and gazed towards her window. "I don't know if I can." She said worried. "Improvise. Could you get the jacket you left in your bathroom? I could use that as a prop for our act." I smiled at the idea. Isabella stood there trying to decipher what my intentions were. She nodded and vacated the room. I approached the window as she went to retrieve the gray jacket. She entered and I quickly took the jacket and kissed her forehead.

"Improvise." I departed to the outside.

Starting my vehicle, I parked it in an obvious spot outside of Charlie's house. I left my vehicle, made my way to the front door, and began knocking. Isabella descended down the stairs as Charlie muted the television, grunting. "I'm closer dad, I'll get it." She said calmly. She opened the door slowly and winked. "Oh hi, Edward!" She smiled brightly. "You forgot your jacket. I am here to ensure you have it back." I pushed the jacket towards her. She glanced back at Charlie, then back at me, and took the jacket from my hand. "Dad! Can Edward come in?" Isabella excitingly requested. Charlie got up from his chair, his stress growing apparent. "Sure… why not." He clenched his teeth together. I entered at Isabella's request and waited near the door as she closed it. "Hey dad, I'm kind of hungry. Can I go out with Edward tonight? It's only 6:37" She pointed in the direction of the clock behind Charlie. He approached Isabella as she turned to me with a wink. He halted and wrapped his arm around her. I kept my face as honest as I was able and it seemed to be working… only on Isabella.

"You can take her out to eat, but that's all. You come back immediately after you're both done. No detours." Charlie said while looking directly at me.

She looked up at Charlie slightly and sighed. "I'd like to eat something… today dad." She said glancing up at him. "I won't keep you any longer. Remember bells, as soon as you're done." Charlie said while letting her go. "I'll make sure of it sir." I assured Charlie but he was already turned around and walking away. "Could he be any meaner?" She whispered as she nudged me in the rib. "Let's go." She said loud enough for Charlie to hear. We left and I stopped Isabella right where she stood. "You'd better put on that jacket." I rubbed her arms. "Oh right!" She smiled and fitted into the jacket. I guided her to my vehicle and she placed herself in the passenger side. I hastened into the drivers seat. "So where to?" She asked as I started the car and began pulling out. "My place." I smiled. "I'm going to eat at your place?" Isabella appeared confused. "I'm sure we can work something out." I said keeping the same smile. We were driving at 40 miles an hour and I was getting a tad frustrated.

"Do I have permission to drive as fast as I want to?" I asked curious.

"Yes. I'm returning the favor." She smiled and ensured her seatbelt was hooked on tightly. I pushed the car almost as fast possible and hastened our arrival to my house. As we were parking, I observed Jasper and Alice walking towards us. "I guess we should say hi to them first." I settled the vehicle down. "Say hi to who?" She looked around, curious. "Jasper and Alice." I gestured outside my driver window. She couldn't see whom I was pointing at, but she smiled at me and opened her door to get out. I vacated the vehicle as well and relaxed on the door in Jasper and Alice's immediate direction. Isabella manuevered around the vehicle and placed her arm around my waist. "Hey guys!" She shouted in their direction. Alice waved in the distance as they hastened their pace towards us. I had no desire to approach them and Isabella could tell. We remained at this area before they approached us. Jasper halted several feet away from us as Alice continued the approach.

"Hey Bella." Alice smiled, as usual.

Isabella lightly broke free from my waist and hugged Alice for a moment. "Hi Alice." Bella said returning the smile. "So what did you want to eat?" Alice said still smiling. "I'm not sure yet." She said confused. "Hello Edward." Jasper shattered my silence. "Hey. Happy hunting?" I joked. Jasper smirked, turned away, and began his approach to our house. "We'd better get inside too Bella. You look starved." I joked. Alice began guiding her before I had the opportunity. I let out a sigh and followed behind them. Isabella turned to look at me with a curious face as I only smiled and pointed forward.


	5. Déjà vu

**Notice:**

**Hi, my name is Jay. I do not own any of the Twilight characters. This is just a fun fictional story I put together. As of January 11th 2013, this story is currently undergoing consistent revisions, so please bare with me. I have so far taken care of chapters 1 through 4 and am working on the chapters after that.**

-Prelude to the specific events-

I watched as Isabella was having a conversation with Alice in the living quarters of our house. She appeared to be involved in the conversation as it did not seem she was looking for me during this time. I knew Carlisle was inside his room, reviewing his paperwork and collecting his thoughts about patients at the hospital. It would be the best time to make such a request and I did not hesitate to approach his room upstairs. I knocked and awaited his answer. "It's open." Carlisle's mind set aside much of what he was occupied with. Entering his room, I observed Carlisle sitting at the desk. His hands were locked in place on the top of the desk, awaiting what I had to say.

"How can I be of assistance?" He asked.

"I would like to ask a favor." My expression offering no eagerness or hope. "Of course. Anything I can do to help." His interest peaked. "May I request that Bella have dinner here?" I kept it to the point, expression the same. "Of course. I assume you have a specific dish in mind, hence the request?" Carlisle attempted to analyze my mood, which still remained unchanged. "Would it be possible to have Mushroom Ravioli prepared?" I was unable to prevent myself from a smile. "We'll handle it. It is apparent that you have memories tied to this dish, so we will ensure it is carefully prepared." He reflected my smile. "I am grateful." I signaled appreciation.

-End of prelude-

Based on her thoughts, Alice had a vision of us deciding to visit. I knew the dish I specially requested would be in the process of creation before our arrival. Her excessively excited thoughts proved this to be fact. Alice and Isabella entered the house before me. We neared the kitchen where Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie were cooking. Alice stroked Isabella's back before moving to assist Esme. Emmett eyes immediately fixed on Isabella, accompanied by a smirk. "Do anything funny today, Bella?" Seemingly hopeful of a new story of her clumsy behavior. She sighed and turned her attention towards me. It seemed she desired an exit from Emmett's attention, so I based my next move on that assumption. The situation proved convenient as it was imperative that I remove Isabella from observing, before she understood what was being created. "Bella. I need to talk to you upstairs." Staging her rescue from Emmett's fun. "I'll try not to do anything funny without your knowledge, ok?" She turned her attention to Emmett for a moment. Jasper was positioned quietly away from everyone, focusing on his own thoughts. Emmett smiled and changed his attention to Jasper's surroundings, approaching him soon after.

"Try not to look so dead, man." Emmett pushed Jasper's arm.

Jasper laughed and returned the gesture. "The food will be ready soon. Don't be long, ok?" Esme said looking directly at me. Carlisle also looked up at Bella and I, but it was only to smile. I wondered if Bella would remember the dish that they were making? Bella looked a bit worried as she caught Carlisle's smile. "Let's go upstairs now." I said tapping Bella's shoulder. "Oh right." Bella said confused. We made our way to climbing upstairs soon after. "You were serious about talking?" Bella said nudging me in the arm. "Why wouldn't I be?" I said confused. "I thought you were joking just to get me out of the situation?" Bella said confused. "We might be able to get some topics out of the way. I'm sure something's bothering you at this point." I said clearing up her confusion. We made it to my room and entered. We both sat down on my couch and I gazed at Bella's face with a smile. "I'm guessing you want me to start?" Bella sighed. "That would make things easier on me. I hit brick walls with my thoughts." I joked. Bella moved closer to me and leaned her head on my shoulder. "You're not going to like this one very much." Bella said as she looked up at me with sincere eyes. "I walked into this, so it's only natural to say you can ask me anything." I said without expression. "Jacob Black." Bella said gripping my sleeve. "What about him?" I said with a slight disgusted tone. "He's still my friend… Why can't you both get along?" Bella said with pleading eyes. "I don't know what part of natural enemies you missed, Bella." I said annoyed. "But… why can't you just ignore your differences?" She said looking down at the floor. "It's not that simple. I can't deny what I am and Jacob can't deny it either." I said while adjusting her to look at my face. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, Bella. But it's more complicated than human bonding." I added carefully. I pressed lightly towards her lips and pulled away.

"It's time to go downstairs." I noted as soon as I read Alice's excited thoughts about the meal being ready.

Bella sighed in defeat and we both got up. We exited my room and made our way downstairs to the kitchen. Bella's eyes widened. "That… smell." Bella said trying to remember. I made sure she was the first to enter as I followed behind her. Alice stood in front of the table hiding the food with her body as she smiled at Bella. "It's behind her." I said pointing in the direction. "It seems so familiar." Bella said trying to identify it. I looked at everyone in the room and noticed they were all looking forward to Bella's reaction. Bella stood in front of Alice looking confused and Alice stepped aside. "Oh… wow." Bella said cracking a smile. "It's mushroom ravioli." Esme said happily. "Edwards idea." Carlisle added. Bella turned to look at me with an embarrassed smile. "Hey Bella. This time we got plastic plates!" Emmett said while spinning a plastic plate on the counter as an example. I looked directly at Jasper and he had apologetic eyes while glancing at Bella. Her focus was on Emmett, so she didn't seem to catch that.

"I'm sure you remember eating this, right?" I asked.

Bella nodded at me in agreement. "Déjà vu" Bella said silently. "Well… are you going to sit down?" Alice asked eager to see Bella take a bite. Rosalie was also smiling but remaining as silent as possible. I pulled the chair back for Bella and she sat down. Emmett moved closer to Alice's side so he could get front row. Bella prodded the ravioli with her fork and stopped to look around at everyone. "I'm getting a bit of stage fright." Bella said nervously. I lowered my head to Bella's ears. "Humor them." I whispered. Bella seemed to have calmed her nerves when I said that as she took a bite. "Tell us how it is!" Alice said not helping Bella's nerves. Esme just smiled at Carlisle and he smiled back. Jasper seemed to have caught on to the moment and smiled as well. Emmett… when isn't he in the mood to smile when Bella's around? Rosalie called Emmett over to her side and held his shoulders. I didn't care much of what Bella thought at this point. I was hoping she'd say something to loosen everyone up and end the show. "It's really good. Almost better than when I first tasted this." Bella turned around and smiled at everyone. "Oh thank goodness!" Alice sighed with relief. "I think we can call off this event before we give Bella a heart attack." Carlisle said. Esme didn't say anything. She seemed proud of everyone's efforts and gestured everyone to leave. "She's going to finish the food, right?" Emmett said while being pulled away by Rosalie. That didn't need to be answered. I knew Bella was hungry at this point. Everyone left except Bella and I, so I pulled up a chair and waited.

"You're going to watch me eat?" Bella said with relief that mostly everyone left.

"Is that a problem?" I said concerned. "Oh no… I was just wondering." Bella said with a smile. "You'd better eat the food then. Out of good faith to their efforts." I smiled back. "It's actually pretty good. I'm going to finish it regardless." Bella chuckled. Bella reached towards an empty spot on the table. "Something the matter?" I asked confused. "…I usually drink something while eating." Bella said while swirling her finger on the table. She got up from her chair and planned to get herself a drink before I stopped her. "I got it Bella. As our guest, it's the least I can do." I said pointing her back to the chair. I walked to the fridge and opened it. It didn't seem like we had anything for Bella to drink in this area, so I opened a few shelves. "I'm fine with water." Bella noted from the table. As soon as she said that, I spotted a few bottles of water we had in the shelf. I haven't the slightest idea on how they got there, but I wasn't going to waste any time questioning that. "We've got bottled water it seems." I said while walking towards Bella and flipping the bottle in the air playfully. She looked up at me from the table with a smile as I placed the bottle of water in her hand.

"Nothing like natural spring water… huh?" Bella said still smiling.

"I wouldn't know. It's been a long time since I've had water." I said while returning her smile. She opened the bottle and proceeded to drink it. I placed myself back on the chair facing her direction. Bella finally finished her food and gave me a confused look. "What now?" I asked also confused. "Can I keep the water?" Bella asked with sincere eyes. "Yes you can." I said laughing lightly. Bella got up from her chair, put her plate in the sink and I got up as well. She started to look around the kitchen. "You can say thanks to everyone from here Bella. They'll hear you." I said with a smirk. Bella looked at me for a moment and then returned the smile. "Thanks everyone!" Bella said with her eyes shooting in every direction. I read everyone's minds at that point and they heard her for sure. "We'd better get back to your place before Charlie tries looking for us in his cruiser." I said with a slight laugh. Bella sighed and as we began to leave the house. We made it to my car and I stopped before getting in. Bella stopped also and looked at me with slight worry. "Did you want to try driving again, Bella? That last time didn't count and you know why." I said while pulling out my keys. "Oh sure!" Bella said almost completely excited. I quickly put the keys in her hand and placed myself in the passenger side. Bella walked towards the driver side and entered. She started the car and turned to me with an unusual expression.

"Is there anything I missed?" I said confused.

Bella then smiled and shook her head. "No… I was just wondering if I could try to be fast like you?" Bella said while pointing at me. I stared at her with confusion at first and laughed. "So you're tired of being humanly careful? I'm all for it." I said with a smile. Bella pulled out and we were on the road. "Whenever you think you're ready Bella." I said seriously. Bella attached her seatbelt and turned to me for a quick smile. Then she glanced at the speedometer and pushed the gas increasing her average 40-mph to 80-mph in just a few seconds. We were moving down a long straight path so there was no worry of her taking sharp turns. I caught the thoughts of someone very familiar at that time. "Bella slow down!" I said quickly. "Why? Getting scared now?" Bella said teasingly. "No! It's not that!" I alerted her. She didn't slow down in time so we passed Charlie at 80 miles an hour before decreasing in speed. Apparently he was expecting me to be the driver so he would pull me over. The sirens went off as Charlie pulled out from being badly hidden near the trees. Bella gasped and looked directly at me with worried eyes. "It's Charlie. He's expecting me to be the driver… not you." I pointed at the steering wheel and gestured her to let me have it. "No. I'm the one that speeded past him. Not you, Edward." Bella said with a sigh as she pulled over to the side of the road. Charlie parked up behind us and walked towards the passenger window. He was confident of me sitting right there with a worried face. He soon found out that the worried face belonged to Bella as she rolled down the window.

"Bells?" Charlie said surprised and shifted his attention to me in the passenger side.

"Hi… dad." Bella said in a nervous voice. "Do you have any idea how fast you were going young lady?" Charlie said in a controlled angry tone. "80 miles… an hour" Bella said looking more and more nervous as the time passed. I had to do something to place the blame more on myself. 'It's my fault sir. I encouraged it." I said lying to Bella and Charlie. "You're damn right it's your fault." Charlie said shifting his controlled anger at me. "Bella you're coming home with me." Charlie said leaving little room for her to decline. "I'm sorry about speeding dad, but I want to go home with Edward." Bella said still nervous. Charlie looked at me with anger in his eyes and looked back at Bella. "We'll talk more about this when we get home. Edward can take you, but I'm following to make sure he doesn't speed himself." Charlie said as calmly as he could. Charlie went back into his cruiser with his light still flaring. I got out of the passenger side calmly and Bella switched seats inside my car. I sat in the driver side and turned the car on again. I kept my speed at 40 and Charlie kept his pace behind us with his lights still flaring. Bella looked at me with apologetic eyes just then. "Sorry…" Bella said while grabbing the back of my hand."It's fine Bella. You were just experimenting. Besides, Charlie's anger is aimed more at me than you. You should be fine at this point." I said while turning my hand over to grab Bella's hand. Bella's expression didn't change at what I said.

"I… don't want him to resent you more" Bella said while looking back at Charlie's cruiser.

I didn't say anything at that point because we already made it back to Charlie's house. I pulled in and Charlie shut off his lights as I did the same. He got out before Bella did and walked next to her door. Bella looked at me with worry as Charlie opened the passenger door. "Let's go, Bells." Charlie ordered and waited for her to come out. I got out of the car and Charlie threw a glare at me. "Look sir, there's no reason for you to be at all angry with Bella. She was just experimenting. If you want to take out your anger on anyone, I'm right here." I said while returning Charlie's glare. Bella got out of the car quickly and put her hands in front of Charlie. I waited on the driver side of my car in anticipation of Charlie coming around. "Is this kid crazy?" Charlie mumbled. "Dad… Let's get inside now. I'll take my punishment in full." Bella said with a desperate voice to prevent him from coming to me. Charlie nodded at Bella and she walked him towards the house. I clenched my hands into a ball and couldn't believe I let my anger get the best of me. I could've hurt him and Bella would've never forgiven me. I got into my car and pretended to leave. I made my way into Bella's room once more.

"How could you go speeding like that?" Charlie asked.

Charlie's voice was light. Apparently my anger infused moment put more of the blame on me than I expected. "I'm sorry dad. I was just trying out the car… I didn't expect to speed forever. It won't happen again." Bella said sincerely. "It sure won't. You're not allowed to see Edward for a week after this stunt. You could've gotten killed!" Charlie said in anger. "That stupid kid is careless. You shouldn't allow yourself to be influenced by him." Charlie added. "But!" Bella was unable to finish her sentence. "Go upstairs, Bella." Charlie demanded. Bella grumbled and climbed upstairs towards her room where I waited on the tip of her bed again. She opened the door and slammed it shut behind her. Bella looked directly at me with a shocked face. "What were you thinking?" Bella said gesturing her hand behind her to remind me. "I'm sorry Bella. Charlie really got on my nerves this time. I'm really sorry for letting it get to me." I said while getting up and walking towards Bella near the door. "Well… thanks for taking most of the blame." Bella said truthfully. "I'd give my life for you, Bella. This is just part of the deal." I smiled and grabbed Bella. "So it seems we're breaking rules, right?" I added. "We are?" Bella said confused. "You're not supposed to see me for a week, remember?" I said jokingly. "Oh right… like I could live without seeing you for a week." Bella said with a bitter expression.

"It's possible." I noted.

"No. It's not. We're in too deep for me to stay away for a full week." Bella said as she rubbed my arms and then hugged me. I heard footsteps coming upstairs and knew Charlie intended to make amends with Bella for what just happened. "Charlie's coming up." I whispered to Bella. She blocked out whatever I said and just kept hugging me. I didn't want to break away, but she'd find out he's outside eventually. A few pounds on the door made Bella jump and let me go. "I'll be in there." I whispered while pointing at the closet. "Bells?" Charlie said with slight worry in his voice. I knew he wanted to re-work his harsh sentence because he's come around to almost fully blaming me. "Yeah, dad?" Bella said in a low voice still a little shaken by the scare. "Can I come in?" Charlie said calmly. "Sure, dad." Bella said louder this time. Charlie entered the room and I just listened at this point. "I'm sorry for being so hard on you. What you did was very bad and it shouldn't go unpunished… but I'm adjusting my strict order. You can see Edward as much as you want to, but leaving this house during that time is restricted to 7 days." Charlie said blankly. "Really? Thanks dad!" Bella said with enthusiasm.

"But I'm not letting up on this kid, Bella." Charlie added.

"What do you mean, "not letting up?"" Bella said confused. "I'm going to be monitoring his time here for these 7 days." Charlie said confidently. Bella was silent for a moment. "…Deal." Bella said blankly. "All right. Get some sleep Bells." Charlie ordered lightly. "Ok. Good night dad." Bella said happily. Charlie left the room feeling better about his decision with Bella, but his anger towards me only shot up higher. I left the closet and walked up to Bella as she stood in front of her bed. "Awful nice of him to lift the burden." I said with a smile. "It was the best deal he could offer" Bella said blankly. "Of course you know, he now hates me twice as much now." I said with a plain face. "I know. I'm sorry you had to worsen it to begin with. If… only." Bella said stopping to sigh.

"Bella. I've already said taking risks for you is my priority." I assured her.

Bella looked at me with sincere eyes and hugged me again. "You make me so happy." Bella started to cry lightly. I pulled Bella away from me as gentle as I could. "It's time for you to sleep, Bella." I said while drying her tears. Bella shook her head in disagreement. "I have to get ready first." Bella said as a reminder to me. I let her go out of the room and waited for her return. She eventually came back in and looked at me with an odd expression. I guess it was because I didn't move from the spot I was in before. "Now I can sleep." Bella said smiling and walking herself to her side of the bed. I walked and placed myself next to Bella as usual and she hugged me again. We didn't say anything this time, we just stayed in this position until she fell asleep.


	6. Restrictions & Jacob

There was no bother from Charlie during Bella's sound sleeping, so I had nothing to worry about. The sun was casting its dim lighting into the sky before the clouds devoured it. Bella stretched her arms outward as she rolled in the direction opposite of me. "Good morning." I said with a smile. Bella turned to look at me with narrow sleepy eyes as she smiled back. "You know the drill by now." Bella joked lightly as she got up and headed towards the bathroom again. Without alarming Bella, I left the house and returned to my car that was hidden out of sight from Charlie's home. I entered my car and slowly paved my way towards Charlie's house. I pulled up the front and parked. Oddly enough Charlie happened to be awake pacing inside the house. I knew he intended to answer the door when I knocked, so I wasn't going to hold anything up. I got out of my car and made my way to the front door. I knocked on the door a few times and Charlie was on his way to greeting me. For better or worse. Charlie opened the door and looked at me with no expression. "Hi sir. I'm sorry about what happened before." I said sincerely. Charlie's expression didn't change from his plain face.

"Forgotten. Bella's in the bathroom right now." Charlie pointed behind him.

"You can wait for her in the living room before I explain how things are going to happen today." Charlie gestured me to come in. I just walked in quietly and placed myself on the couch. Charlie didn't waste any time to follow my example and put himself on the couch as well. I kept my focus dead on the clock while Charlie turned on the television. The volume of the television didn't break the awkward silence between Charlie and me because he had it on low. He kept his focus on the television but I knew he was really paying closer attention to my actions at that time. A door opened and closed upstairs. Charlie looked in the direction and I only shifted my eyes to the right. "Down here, Bells. Edward's waiting." Charlie said calmly. Bella climbed down the stairs and looked at Charlie and me sitting on the couches. She walked towards us and stopped next to me. "Would you like to take a seat before I explain things, Bells?" Charlie asked. "I'm fine with standing." Bella said as she tapped my shoulders lightly. Charlie looked at me with an annoyed face. "This mostly surrounds what Bella can actually do for these next 7 days." Charlie said directly to me. I tried to keep my face interested as if I didn't already know. "Bella is not allowed to leave the house for 7 days, which means you aren't able to take her out anywhere." Charlie said still locked on me.

"That's fine with me, sir." I said seriously.

I glanced at Bella and she looked annoyed at the decision, but she wasn't getting completely shut off at least. "That's not all. Your time here is to be monitored by me." Charlie added. Bella didn't seem to want to stay in the area anymore at this point, so she changed the subject as best she could. "I'm going to make breakfast." Bella said while walking out. I nodded in agreement with Charlie and he turned his head to look at the television again. "Can you give me a hand, Edward?" Bella asked loudly. I got up from my chair and looked at Charlie for some kind of signal. He waved his hand towards the kitchen and revealed his attention doesn't extend to the kitchen very much. I walked towards the kitchen and made it in to see Bella waiting while leaning on the table's edge. "What did you need help with?" I asked curious. "I just needed you to be here. It makes things easier on me." Bella admitted with a smile. "That's good. I'm certain I'm not of much use in the kitchen after my last example." I smiled back and then sat in the kitchen chair. Bella laughed lightly and began to prepare eggs and bacon yet again. Bella finished making the food and Charlie had his share soon after. She placed herself on the table again to eat her share.

"That looks really disgusting." I said with a disgusted face.

"Oh and your meal is appealing to me?" Bella said jokingly. She finished her food and put her plate away. I got up from the chair and we both exited out of the kitchen. Bella stopped and was thinking of something by the looks of her face. "Hey dad?" Bella said curious. Charlie turned off the television and shifted his attention to both Bella and I. "Yeah, Bells?" Charlie waited also curious. "Is there any way we can go outside? I feel a bit… closed up in here." Bella said pleading. "Sure you can." Charlie said blankly. "Thanks dad." Bella said as she guided me to the front door. "I'm coming along too." Charlie added as he got up from his chair. Bella lowly grunted and exited outside with me. Charlie followed shortly after. It was closely watched like this for the next 6 days, as Bella seemed to be counting the days by alarming me each time I came over. We've finally passed Bella's last days of restrictions and she was more than eager to leave the house when I came over. Bella nudged me out of the door as soon as she answered. "Bye dad!" Bella said with excitement.

"Bye bells. I hope you've learned something." Charlie said with confidence.

I laughed as I walked her to my car and we climbed in. "So where to?' I asked curious. "I don't care! Let's just go somewhere!" Bella said very excited. "I guess for now we'll go for a drive until you can make up your mind." I smiled. We pulled onto the road and I kept my speed at 40 due to the lasting effects of Bella's punishment rubbing off on me. "Let's go see a movie?" Bella said with curious eyes. "Sure. Do you have one in mind?" I asked. "Not really. Let's decide when we get there." Bella still sounded overly excited. We eventually made it to the theatre and Bella jumped out of the car when we pulled to a stop. She ran around the car and put her arm around mine. We both walked up to the ticket booth and looked at what we could possibly watch at the time. "Can I help you?" The lady said bitterly. "All in good time." I said while flashing a quick smile in her direction. "Please take all the time you need." The lady said with more enthusiasm. Bella looked at me with an odd face and then looked back at our options. "We should see that." Bella said pointing directly at it. "A zombie film? I said surprised. "Yeah. I can't believe it's still here!" Bella said with a smile. "Two tickets please." I asked the lady selling them. "Certainly." The lady said smiling at me. We both walked into the theatre area and Bella looked at my face. "Could you try to do a little less of that?" She said while poking my chest lightly. "Try to do a little less of what?" I asked confused. "Charming people so much." She said with a slight annoyed tone.

"I wasn't charming anyone." I said truthfully.

Bella sighed and pointed at the concession stand. "I need some popcorn." Bella said while pointing towards the lady waiting on any kind of business. I allowed Bella to drag me in that direction as she proceeded to ask for popcorn. "A really big one." Bella said slightly laughing and looking at my face. I had no problem paying for anything as I pointed at the cups stacked on top of each other. "You'll choke without that, Bella." I said seriously. "Oh, oops! I'll take a large soda too." Bella laughed. The lady serving us didn't seem very amused. She just gathered everything and Bella grabbed it all. I paid and then we walked towards our screening. "Familiar with zombies?" Bella looked at me with curious eyes. "I've come across some folklore on the creatures." I admitted. Bella smiled as we made it to the doors that hid the movie inside. We took our seats near the middle of the theatre. This wasn't a full house and most seats were vacant. Bella didn't seem to mind as she placed her large soda in the cup holder and put the popcorn on her lap. I leaned my head over to Bella as she was glued to the movie previews. "You don't plan to digest all of this, do you?" I asked confused.

"Of course not. This is just a fail safe in case I crave more." Bella whispered while turning to me just inches from my face.

I kissed her lightly, sat back into position and placed my arm around her. "Let's see what we're dealing with here." I said with a smile. Bella paused for a moment before reaching into her popcorn in small portions. "The movies starting." Bella whispered happily. Bella oddly hugged me close during the romantic scene and then it was quickly over when the zombies came afoot. I couldn't help but laugh during the gore scenes as it just looked really unrealistic. The amount of blood made me feel uneasy at times, but then the movie ended and everyone got up to stretch. Bella included. I just got up and waited for Bella to collect herself. She gestured our exit and I lead the way. I turned to look at Bella and she didn't have anything in her hands.

"Aren't you going to take your stuff?" I asked confused.

Bella looked at my confused expression and smiled. "They give people jobs to take care of this." She said smiling. "It's still kind of rude. You could lighten the persons workload." I said with a serious face. "…Fine." Bella said as she went back to get her stuff. I caught the thoughts of the guy walking down towards me and he intended to not budge while coming in my direction. I ignored him as he came down with his arms around a girl of his own. Bella picked up the soda and popcorn and turned to look at me. The guy ran right into my shoulder and pushed himself to the side with his own carelessness. I didn't bother looking at him, but Bella worried about the situation as she quickly walked towards me. "Hey man? What the hell?" The annoyed guy said. I still didn't look as Bella finally reached me. "Hey, I'm talking to you pal." The guy said as he put his arm on my shoulder. I turned to look at him with an angry face and he quickly let go. "…Let's get out of here, babe." The man said as he let his girlfriend guide him out. Bella crossed her arms and frowned at me. "This was in no way my fault. He wanted to pass through me." I said honestly. Bella uncrossed her arms and smiled. "I guess you had your reasons then. Let's go." She said continuing to smile. We walked out of the area and Bella tossed everything in the trash. We exited out of the building and walked towards my car.

"Was this fun for you?" I asked curious.

"It sure was." She admitted while wrapping her arm around me. We made it to my car and we both entered. "We should get you home. It's getting dark." I said with a smile. "I really don't want to go home just yet, but we'll pick up the pace tomorrow." Bella smiled back. I started up the car and we were driving back to Charlie's at the normal speed limit. "Hey Edward?" Bella asked while looking directly at me. "Yes?" I answered. "Can I ask you something?" Bella said with pleading eyes. "You already did, Bella. I've answered your question." I joked. "Seriously." Bella sounded annoyed. "This drive will be a while at this speed, so sure." I answered. Bella looked outside of her window for a moment. I was guessing she was trying to find the right way to say it. "…Victoria?" Bella said carefully while not looking at my face. "What about her?" I said with a low growl. "Are you really going to?" Bella said with a serious tone. "Yes Bella. There's nothing that can change her fate when we catch her." I said in a serious tone as well. "But Jacob and his pack want her too…" She said still not looking at me. "I'm sure we can work something out with those dogs. Maybe half and half?" I lightly joked. "That's not funny, Edward. This is serious." Bella said as she looked at me with a serious face. "Bella, we're going to keep hunting her regardless of what those dogs think. But if they get to her first… Carlisle ordered me to stand down. Because he knows how much I want her dead." I admitted.

"Please don't get hurt, Edward." Bella said as she sighed and placed her attention towards the window again.

As we were driving, I picked up the thoughts of an annoying dog. "Bella… Jacob's trailing us in those trees." I said while pointing in the direction. "He is? Why?" She said looking surprised. "Apparently it's urgent enough for him to run along side us. He wishes to speak to you directly, but I'm not allowing that." I warned Bella. Bella looked directly at me with a blank face. I was guessed she was coming up with something to say to get me to stop. "If he thinks it's important Edward, then I have to hear him out." She said urgently. "No Bella. He's not very stable right now." I warned clearly this time. "I don't care. You have to let him talk to me." Bella said with a desperate expression. I decreased speed and the dog did the same. "Bella, you have to keep your distance from him. No excuses." I said as I stopped the car on the side of the road. I got out of the car and quickly opened Bella's door. "He's waiting in there." I said while pointing into the forest. Bella walked towards the forest and I stopped her. "He's not within walking distance." I said blankly. "…Oh." Bella said as she climbed on my back. I ran towards his direction and there the temporarily human form dog stood as we stopped near him. Bella jumped off my back and I pushed her behind me slowly. "Let him cool down. He's not happy about me being here with you." I warned Bella.

"Don't do that." Jacob said angrily towards me.

"Jacob wishes to inform you about his position in your life." I said ignoring Jacob's order. Bella looked directly at Jacob as he stood there with his hands clenched into a ball. "So you _can_ read minds." Jacob said still angry. "What's going on, Jacob? What about your position in my life?" Bella said concerned. "Bella… you're going to have to make a choice." Jacob said still angry with me. "A choice?" She said confused. "It's either me or _him_." Jacob's anger fueled higher at the thought of me. "You can't do that!" Bella yelled. Jacob was surprised and his anger faded away quickly. He seemed to be suffering sorrow now at Bella's response. "I'm sorry Bella, but this is the way things are going to have to be. Make a choice." Jacob said with a suffering tone. Bella turned to look at me and then Jacob. "I…" Bella stopped herself as she seen Jacob's tortured expression. Without my knowledge, Bella ran towards Jacob to comfort him. She was no more than 4 feet away from Jacob before I stopped her. Jacob stared me down and I jumped back with Bella and took position because I knew he intended to fight. "Bella, he's not stable! Get away!" I yelled at her. Bella backed up and tripped on a rock causing her to land on the ground. Jacob completely transformed and launched himself towards me. "No!" Bella yelled in our direction. A growl was heard coming from the forest as it tackled Jacob out of sight and into the forest. Bella looked horrified at what she just seen and I turned to help her up.

"Now you see why I wanted to avoid this." I said still angry from Jacob's behavior.

Bella didn't speak, so I just got her out of the forest and back to the car. We got into the car and began to drive off. "Jacob… Is he ok!" She said gasping. "He's fine. He was pulled away by one from his pack." I said in a serious tone. "He…" Bella didn't finish her sentence. "This is why you need to avoid him. His kind isn't very controlled when they are angry. He's way too dangerous for you now." I warned her. Bella didn't say anything. It seemed like that event set her into a completely silent mood. She crossed her arms and stared at her knees while I just drove looking directly on the road. We made it to Charlie's without a single word exchanged and Bella got out of the car. I got out as well and lead her towards the front door. "There's no way to hide your emotional state from your dad at this point. I'm going to have to tell a lie." I noted. Bella looked up at me and just nodded. She opened the door and Charlie was just coming out of the kitchen. "Hey bells. How was your…" Charlie stopped himself when he saw Bella's scared expression. Charlie quickly walked over to Bella and pulled her out of my arms. "What happened?" Charlie asked in an angry tone and shooting a glance my way. Bella didn't respond so Charlie had no choice but to ask me. "You'd better tell me straight. What happened?" Charlie demanded. I quickly thought up a situation and waved my arm in the air lightly. "We were coming out of the theatre and Bella was nearly hit by a car driving too fast. I pulled her out of the way, but the car struck someone else. Bella looked shaken up and it just got worse when she saw what happened to the person that was hit." I said with as much confidence as I could. Charlie seemed to believe me as he turned his attention to Bella for signs of agreement. Bella didn't want to say anything or even nod her head, so Charlie sat her down on the chair. He turned his attention to me again. "Thanks." Charlie said blankly. I nodded and walked out of the house.


	7. Complications

I had to take this opportunity to go back to my place without Bella to discuss certain things with Carlisle. I got into my car and speeded towards my house. Within short time, I finally arrived to see Alice standing out front alone. I already was aware she knew most of the situations of today, so I only looked at her once before getting out of the car. She didn't move from the front of the house and I tried to walk past her. "I'm glad that wolf kid didn't get into a fight with you. That would have been a disaster for our peace keeping treaty." Alice said stopping me from opening the door. I turned to look at her with an irritated face and she returned my look with a smile. I looked away and turned the knob of the door. "Carlisle will be behind that door in just a few seconds. You can talk to him out here at this point." Alice said stopping me once more. I didn't look at her. I just let go of the knob and walked back a few inches. Carlisle opened the door and stepped out in front of me. "What is it that you wanted to discuss, Edward?" Carlisle asked. I looked back at Alice with irritation again.

"Sorry." She said with a smile but not looking directly at me.

"It's about our hunt for Victoria and the problem of who claims this bounty." I said slightly angry. "We've been through this already, Edward. If the others find her first, we are not to intervene. In such a case that we happen to run into her, we'll make sure to claim the bounty." Carlisle said in a serious tone. "And if something should complicate things? In such a situation that both our sides run into her at the same time?" I asked curious. "That would complicate things very much, but we'll have to give the bounty to the others at that point." Carlisle said with a resentful tone. "But why?" I asked half confused. "You know as well as I do that the others can be very unstable in their transformation. As you've seem to found out through that kid." Carlisle said looking towards Alice for revealing that detail. Is there anything she can't just ignore? "It seems as we're standing here, those dogs are searching for Victoria right now." I said blankly. "So it appears." Carlisle said with slight annoyance. "I guess we'll halt our search party for another time then?" I asked. "We'll get right on it tomorrow. Alice has clearly seen it as a perfect day to do so." Carlisle said with a smile. I waved my hand in the air and slightly turned my focus behind me.

"Hey, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper." I said as they appeared.

"Hey, where's Bella?" Emmett asked. "She's at home recovering from an incident." I said while throwing a glare in Alice's direction. I expected her to talk, but she didn't say a word. All she did was walk up to Jasper and they both walked in our direction. Carlisle and I moved away from the front door as Jasper and Alice entered the house. Emmett wanted to ask about the incident, but Rosalie guided him inside. Carlisle followed suit and so did I. "Those hounds make it pretty difficult to hunt for food." Jasper complained. "They are a real pain in the thirst." Emmett joked lightly. "It's not something we can't work around, guys." Rosalie said annoyed with their complaints. Carlisle made his way upstairs and I just leaned on the wall nearest me. I had a lot to think about at this moment, but my thoughts focused around the real problem here. Jacob Black. Bella still seemed convinced she can hold a steady friendship with that immature dog. I made it my personal mission to prove her wrong at this point. Nothing good was to come of this, but Bella seemed too stubborn to listen to reason. As if I didn't put her in enough trouble… she has to keep seeking out that wolfs audience.

"Something bugging you?" Jasper said breaking my concentration.

"There is a lot bugging me right now, Jasper." I said frustrated. "I can provided help if you need it." Jasper said quick glancing to Alice. I knew right then that Alice told him what happened between Jacob and me, but I didn't care to get angry with that at this point. "No thanks. This is something I have to convince Bella of on my own." I said waving my hand lightly to shake off some irritation of the problem. "I wasn't talking about helping you with Bella. I was talking about that over-excited canine." Jasper corrected. "I wish." I laughed a little. Jasper smirked and patted my shoulder with his hand. He lightened my mood and I was sure that was his intention as he walked off back to Alice. "Bye Edward." Alice said waving in my direction. I was confused as to why she said bye, but then I realized that Bella wasn't in her best of moods right now. "Bye." I said blankly as I left the house. I got into my car and made my way to Charlie's. I made sure to not park close enough to get my car spotted. I got out and stopped to turn my head behind me. Immediately I turned around and readied myself for any unwanted situation. "I'm not here for that." Jacob said frustrated. "Then what brings you in front of me?" I demanded.

"Oh like you already don't…" Jacob cut himself off before reminding me of my ability.

"I'm here to apologize for what happened before." Jacob said reluctant. "Apology accepted." I said with an angry tone. Jacob wanted to say a lot more in anger, but he just turned around and ran into the forest. I shut my car door and made it to Bella's window. Charlie was already asleep in his room, but Bella was lying down with her eyes open. I knocked lightly on the window and Bella shot up looking in my direction. She waved her hand and signaled me to come in. I entered and shut her window behind me. "I thought I'd take a more civil approach to entering your room." I joked lightly. Bella slightly smiled and resumed her lying down position. I walked up to her bed and took the same position. Bella didn't seem eager to hug me this time as she kept to herself looking directly at the roof. I turned over and leaned towards Bella. "Is this something we have to discuss?" I asked. Bella took her focus off the roof and looked at me with eager eyes. "It might help." She whispered. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Bella. It wasn't very wise of me to allow you to go near him in his state." I said blaming myself. "Can't you blame me for once?" She said annoyed. "No. None of this was your fault. _I_ allowed you to see him." I clarified. Bella looked at me with sad eyes. "I don't like when you blame yourself for my decisions." She said while getting up slowly. She initiated the kiss this time as she pulled away slowly. "What was that for?" I asked smiling. "I need something to distract me." Bella said while breathing heavy and lying back down. I waited for her to calm herself before I spoke again.

"So that wolf ran into me again." I said with slight annoyance in my tone.

Bella sat up quickly with a shocked expression. I re-positioned myself with her. "You didn't let me finish." I said annoyed. Bella's tension lightened a little when I said that. "He came to me directly to apologize for his behavior." I said finishing my story. "He said sorry?" She said confused. "The leader of his pack told him to. I did nothing threatening to provoke him and he was forced to apologize for his actions." I said with a serious tone. "You read his mind, didn't you?" Bella said annoyed. "I'm sure he knew I was reading his mind. He kept his apology brief and ran off when I accepted it." I said while looking at Bella's face. I knew it was late at this point because Bella's eyes were finding it hard to stay open. "Maybe you should get some rest now. We can talk more about this tomorrow." I assured her. Bella nodded in agreement as she smiled convincingly at me since before our Jacob ordeal. Bella fell asleep quickly, but she wasn't in any mood for contact with me today. I kept my distance as she slept calmly, but I knew after what she'd seen recently was about to bother her sleep again. Sure enough she started to turn in frustration with her eyes squeezed tightly together. "Jacob… I'm sorry." Bella mumbled slowly.

"Don't… Edward…no." She continued to mumble while turning her body again.

She went quiet after that, so I assumed that part of her dream had passed. I waited next to her as she slept quietly again for the next several hours. Around that time, I noticed the sky was getting dimly lit blue and it was 7 in the morning through Bella's clock. "Stop… NO!" Bella yelled as she jumped off of her bed and fell forward completely. I got around to catching her by her shoulders before she could hurt herself. Her yell wasn't quite so loud because she was entirely much too tired to muster the strength, but I knew she wanted to yell so much louder. Charlie didn't awake, so that was a plus on our part. Bella looked up at me slowly with tears in her eyes. "It was just a nightmare." I said slightly shaking her. She didn't say anything as I pulled her to hug me. "…I shouldn't let this get to me." Bella said slowly. I shook my head in disagreement as I pulled Bella away from me slowly. "None of this is your fault, Bella. You're only human. It's Jacob's fault. If he hadn't acted the way he did, maybe today would have turned out fine." I said with an angry tone. Bella seemed surprise that I wasn't taking the blame for this one, but her eyes still burned with agony. "Please don't hate Jacob. I really want to remain friends with him… and you." Bella said while placing her hands on my chest. "There's no way this can work out for the better. You know that." I said while lightly gripping her hands on my chest. "I still have to try." Bella said sincere.

"Since it seems that you are officially awake, I will wait for you to get ready." I smiled.

Bella nodded and walked out of the room. I waited as usual and then she returned to her bedside where I remained standing in her direction. Bella sat down on her bed and I sat next to her. "So, how is today going to work?" Bella asked curiously. "We're going hunting today. Alice has seen it to be the perfect time to do so." I said with a slight smile. Bella didn't look surprised as she grabbed my hand lightly. "Thirst?" She asked concerned. "You could say that." I said blankly. Bella looked at me oddly and let go of my hand. "Something else?" Bella asked more concerned. "Victoria." I said with anger in my voice. Bella's eyes widened as she began to show signs of panic. I grabbed Bella's hand this time to comfort her. "Look Bella, I told you not to worry about us. We can handle it." I assured her. Bella started to compose herself as she returned my grip with her hand. "Who is going with you?" Bella asked still worried about me. "Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper." I responded with no expression. Bella's mood lightened up a little when I said who was going with me.

"Where will I be during all of this?" Bella asked.

"You'll be with Esme, Alice, and Rosalie at our house awaiting the outcome". I answered. Bella proceeded to get up from her bed and I did the same. "So… we'd better get to your place then." Bella said still with worry. I sighed and made my exit out of the house to her front door again. I knocked and she came downstairs slowly. Charlie was finally awake with my knocking because I made sure my pound would reach his ears. It wouldn't make much sense to not let him know we were leaving. Bella opened the door and looked at me with worry again. "Can I come in?" I asked with a smile. Bella was able to return my smile and gesture me inside. "We need to wait on your dad." I said lowly as I knew Charlie was approaching our direction. "Who is it, Bells?" Charlie asked half concerned as usual in the morning. "It's Edward. We're going to go to his place today. It's been a while since I've talked with everyone." Bella said honestly. "That's fine." Charlie said while yawning and descending downstairs. He didn't bother to look at me this time. "Let's go then." Bella said with a forced smile, but still full of worry. I nodded and opened the door letting her out first and then following soon after. We got into my car and made our way to my place with complete silence. We arrived and everyone was waiting on us inside. Bella got out of the car slowly and I was already waiting for her in front on my car.

"I told you this was going to happen. I'm sorry it doesn't make you feel good." I said while walking next to Bella towards my house.

"It's fine. I'm always going to be worried about you Edward. I love you." Bella said while she put her arms around my waist. I stopped us at the front door and lightly turned Bella to face me. We stared at each other for a moment and shared a kiss. I pulled away in time for Bella to compose herself before we entered the house. I opened the door and Alice stood 5 feet away with a smile aimed at Bella. Bella walked in first and hugged Alice lightly. I walked in as well and shut the door behind me. "Welcome back, Bella." Alice said happily. "Thanks." Bella responded with a smile. Emmett walked in with Jasper and smirked in Bella's direction. "This is all for you Bella." Emmett said confidently while lightly punching Jasper in the arm. Bella waved in Emmett's direction retaining her smile. Carlisle came downstairs with Esme. "How are you feeling today, Bella?" Carlisle asked concerned. "I'm fine. This whole thing has me worried though." Bella admitted with a grim expression. Esme parted with Carlisle and wrapped her arm around Bella.

"They'll be fine, dear." Esme said reassuring Bella.

Jasper and Emmett exited outside and Carlisle waited for me to do the same. Esme and Alice escorted Bella to the living room where Rosalie awaited their arrival. I looked at Carlisle and he nodded. I made my exit and Carlisle soon followed. Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle, and I were standing outside facing each other's directions. "…Edward." Carlisle said. "I know. I'll try make sure to stick within your speed." I assured him. Just then the front door swung open and Bella stood in the doorway breathing heavy. It was obvious she was trying to fight back her fears of what she believes might happen to me. Bella ran out towards me and gave me a hug. "Please be careful Edward." She said while looking at me with fear in her eyes. "Bella. We'll be fine." I said with a sigh as I kissed her forehead. "Bella!" Alice said loudly in calling. Bella let go of her hug slowly and walked back through the door she opened. She stopped to turn her head towards me at the doorway and I just smiled before taking off with the others.


	8. The hunt

We were running through the forest close together at first, but we created space between each of us to cover more ground. I was running slower than normal as ordered by Carlisle to keep up with them. I didn't feel like we'd run into anything until I picked up the dying thoughts of a human. His mind was asking for help and I knew instantly that Victoria was responsible for this as I picked up her thoughts soon after. I looked in Carlisle's direction, turned my attention forward and picked up the pace.

"What are you doing!" Carlisle asked before I outran him and the others.

I was closing in on Victoria's location through the smell of blood from the human she was attacking. The smell was stronger, much closer at this point. I instinctively crashed into Victoria and pushed her towards a tree bark. She slammed the tree with a loud sound and caught herself on her landing. The human she attacked was dead and there wasn't anything I could do for him. Victoria seemed to be aware of my speed at this point because she didn't bother to run. She readied herself and waited for me to make the first move. I tensed and prepared to run directly at her, but a pest gave me a reason to wait. A large wolf lunged itself onto Victoria's arm knocking her to the ground. The wolf looked exactly the way Jacob did when he tried to attack me, so I knew instantly that was that immature kid. Victoria almost knocked him off before four other wolves descended upon her like an avalanche. The larger one waited looking in my direction as the other 3 helped pin Victoria down. I was getting very angry at that point and I knew I could find an opening to pull Victoria away to claim my kill. I prepared to spring forward when I caught sight of an opening and Emmett hopped in my way bracing my shoulders. "You know the drill, man." Emmett said in a serious tone. Carlisle and Jasper waited behind me. "You remember the deal, Edward. This is their kill now." Carlisle said calmly.

"I got it." I said with an angry tone.

Emmett let go of me and walked to my right side. All of us were watching the wolves prepare to tear Victoria apart. My rage fueled higher and higher as my eagerness began to spark, but I had a control on my actions. I kept a tense fist while watching them get closer and closer to tearing her to shreds. The biggest wolf was watching my eyes as I shot a quick glance at him before returning my attention to Victoria's covered location again. The largest wolf growled at his pack and they moved out of the way. The apparent leader of the pack stepped on Victoria's arms and shot his claws into her stomach. It looked at me directly and catapulted Victoria in between our line. I was already ready to go at this point as I quickly launched towards Victoria pinning her to the ground again. I cracked her neck to get a good bite with all of my rage. I pulled away from Victoria's neck and locked my angry eyes with hers. My mind was going insane at this point because I just wanted to tear her apart in as many ways as I could. Before I got to do anything else, an image of Bella's shocked and worried face flashed in my mind.

"Edward!" Bella cried in my memory.

My body was less tense and my rage seemed to have faded away slowly. I couldn't understand why I didn't want to kill her anymore… but I knew I wanted to be with Bella right at this very moment. I jumped back to Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett's location just standing a few feet in front of them. Quickly the Jacob wolf pinned her down again and the others followed soon after. I turned around and walked in the other direction. Carlisle nodded and everyone else followed. We all began to run back to our place as we could hear the wolves tear away at Victoria. As we were running I was still stunned at my sudden decision to not take advantage of the kill that was given to me. We reached our place within good time. I stopped several feet away from our house as Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett stopped at the front door. Jasper and Emmett entered the house without a word, but Carlisle turned to look at me. "Is there anything I can do right now?" Carlisle said carefully while examining my confused expression. "Could you send Bella out here? This is the kind of thing I need to take up with her alone." I said still confused. Carlisle nodded and turned to go inside. Within a few minutes Bella opened the front door and slowly walked towards me. I looked at her and everything was completely clear at this point. Bella finally made it to me and stopped for a moment as I waited for her to talk first. "You… didn't do it?" Bella said in low surprise. I knew Alice told her everything that happened, so I didn't bother being annoyed by that.

"…I couldn't." I sighed.

Bella looked at my mixture of emotions. I was confused and angry at the same time because Victoria's death is something I truly desired by my own hands. Bella walked closer to me and placed her hands on my chest. "Can… you tell me why you didn't?" She said in a low voice while looking into my eyes. I placed my hands on her waist and took a moment to find the right words. "I saw… you… in my memory." I admitted slowly. Bella's eyes grew more curious at what I said. "You… saw me?" She asked confused. "Your face was scared… and full of worry. I felt all of my anger fade and it was just sorrow. I felt bad for putting you through this worry… so I couldn't kill Victoria." I said while rubbing Bella's face. Bella removed her hands from my chest and hugged me as much as she could. "So… you stopped for me?" She said with appreciation. "Yes. My decisions… revolve around your approval." I admitted. Bella pulled away just enough to lock eyes with me again. "Thank you." She said with a smile and slight tears in her eyes. I smiled and kissed her lips lightly.

"Let's go inside for a while." I said while gesturing my hand towards my house.

Bella nodded and kept her smile as we walked towards my house. We entered and Emmett was leaning on the wall to our right side. "So, why didn't you do it man?" Emmett asked confused. "It's complicated." I answered with an annoyed face. "All right man. I can take a hint." Emmett said while turning to walk away. "You'll have to tell me eventually." He said while walking away. "Maybe you should just… tell him?" Bella said confused. "This is something that must remain between us, Bella. He can believe I'll tell him all he wants to." I answered truthfully. Bella smiled as we were walking towards the stairs. "Question time?" She asked. "I don't have any… oh wait." I shook my head because my original intention was to just relax with Bella by my side. Bella laughed a little as we were climbing upstairs and going towards my room. We entered my room and took our seats on my couch. "You really need a bed." Bella joked. "So what do I have to answer today?" I asked changing the subject. Bella studied my face for a moment as she pulled herself closer to my shoulder. She took a deep breath and paused for a moment. "I don't have anything to ask today." She said smiling in my direction. I was surprised as I returned her smile.

"What were your intentions?" She asked curious.

"I just wanted to sit here with you. You are a constant gift that I appreciate in my company everyday." I admitted. "I wouldn't call myself a gift." Bella sighed. "Stop under appreciating yourself. I've already made clear on how much I need you." I said in a serious tone. Bella didn't respond as she leaned her head on my shoulder and hugged me. "I love you." She whispered. "I love you too." I said while kissing her hair. We stayed in this position for an hour before Bella's stomach rumbled. "I'm sorry." Bella said while holding her stomach. "Don't be sorry. You're hungry" I corrected her. Bella moved herself from me and got up from the couch. "I guess I have to eat something then." She noted. "I'll take you home. You have more options there." I responded. I got up from the couch and guided Bella out of my house. It was still around 4 in the afternoon, so we had plenty of time in the day to do much after she ate. We entered my car as normal and pulled out heading towards Charlie's. Bella looked embarrassed about the reason we were going to her place as she was looking forward trying to shake it off. I had to say something to change her attitude.

"What's on the menu today?" I asked with a smile.

Bella turned her direction on me with slight laughter. "I'm thinking spaghetti… or maybe something quick like a salad." She said with a smile. It appeared my plan worked, so I returned her smile and turned my attention back to the road. We didn't have to talk about much because our drive was cut short due to my speed. We pulled into Charlie's and Bella removed her seatbelt. I exited out of the car and opened the passenger door for her, as she was about to try the open the door herself. Bella got out of the car in a quick happy mood as she gripped on to my arm. "Shall we?" She said happily. "We shall." I answered. I noticed Charlie's cruiser, but I tried my best to ignore the annoyance he might bring as I kept walking with Bella to the front door. She opened the door and we both walked in. I knew Charlie wasn't around, but Bella was confused at him not being in the living room as usual. "He's in the bathroom." I said pointing up with a smile. "Oh. Well let's get to the kitchen then." She said gesturing her hands. I decided to stand in the middle of the kitchen as Bella grabbed a lot of things for Spaghetti. I followed her movements with a confused look while she kept her focus on what she needed to use. She placed one pack of uncooked pasta, one can of sauce and half of raw meat on the table.

"I thought you said you were hungry?" I asked.

"I am." She answered confused at my question. "But it looks like you're serving more than just yourself." I added while looking at the materials she lied on the table. "Charlie has to eat too, you know. It would be rude to just cook for myself when I have the time to make something for both of us." She said with slight laughter. I smiled and didn't say anything. Charlie came walking downstairs as expected. "Bells?" He called. "I'm in the kitchen!" She said loudly as she was putting the uncooked pasta in boiling water. Charlie started to trail in our direction and finally entered to look directly at me. He was in uniform and I knew he was heading out for a long while. "Hey, Edward." Charlie said sounding forcefully welcoming. He took his attention away from me and looked in Bella's direction. "What's cooking?" He asked curious. "Spaghetti." Bella said turning to smile at him. "I'll have to wait on that for when I come back." Charlie sighed. "Why?" Bella said staring back at Charlie again. "There's been another… situation and I have a lot of work ahead of me. I may not even be able to come back at all today." Charlie stated. He threw a glare at me and detested the idea of leaving me here with Bella alone.

"Don't worry sir. I respect your daughter." I assured him.

I convinced Charlie this time, but this actually wasn't a lie anyway. Bella ignored the issue at hand and walked up to Charlie for a quick hug. "I'll place most of it in the fridge. You can heat it up when you come back." Bella said with a smile. "Thanks, Bells." Charlie said while heading out of the house. Bella tapped my face with her index finger and then returned to mixing the pasta. "Can you give me a hand?" She asked. "With what?" I said confused. "Can you open that can of sauce?" She asked, turning to point at them on the table. "…I can try." I said with worry. Bella stopped mixing the pasta and turned to look at me with an embarrassed face. "I'm sorry. I forgot you don't know much about making human food. I'll grab the item you need." She said while going to one of the drawers and pulling out a metallic object. "You'll be using this." She said while walking up to me and placing it in my hand. "And this is?" I asked confused. "It's a can opener. It's pretty old fashioned. Here let me show you how it works." She said with a smile. Bella grabbed the can and proceeded to slowly show me how it works. "So you turn like this… and it opens the can eventually." She said as she stopped turning the can opener. Bella went back to the pasta and began to stir it gently.

"Seems easy enough." I said with confidence.

Bella turned to look back at me to see if I got the idea right. I was already behind her with the open can gesturing her to pour it in. "Oh right. I forgot about your ability." She laughed as she took the can and poured it into an empty pan. "Anything else?" I asked. "I can take it from here. Thanks for your help." She admitted. I leaned on the kitchen wall giving Bella plenty of room to walk around. It was fascinating how much she actually had to do to get this meal created. It made me feel better about how I eat. The amount of effort she needed to put in this meal just seems ridiculous, but I didn't comment on that. Her meal was finally finished. She went to grab a plate, a fork and a few storage containers for Charlie's share. She began filling her plate first, put that aside, and started to fill the storage containers.

"I'll help you put those away." I offered.

"Thanks." She said with a smile. I took the containers to the fridge with ease and Bella made her way to the kitchen table. I sat myself across from her the same as last time. She had no problem eating in front of me as she did with my family. She put her fork down halfway through the meal and gave me an annoyed look. "Well, this just isn't fair." Bella said annoyed. "What isn't?" I asked confused. "How come you get to see how I eat?" Bella said still annoyed. "I've told you the reasons why you can't come along with me for that." I answered with a sigh. "It's still not fair." Bella crossed her arms and looked at her food. "…If you want me to leave?" I asked slightly saddened by the idea. "No it's fine. Forget I said anything." She said apologetically while looking at my face. "Forgotten." I said smiling. Bella returned the smile and began to eat her food again. She finished her plate and proceeded to get up placing everything in the sink.

"So what now?" Bella asked while washing the dishes.

I got up from my chair and walked next to her. "Well Bella… you see." I said blankly. Bella finished washing her dishes and turned the water off, looking directly at me with a curious face. "I'm kind of hungry too. I can be quick about getting a meal if you just give me a little time." I assured her. "I'm sorry… for keeping you from that." Bella said while gazing in my eyes. "You don't have to apologize for everything. Besides, this was my own fault. I was so busy with you that I neglected my own thirst up until now." I corrected her. "So you're going to go hunt for a bit?" Bella asked. "Yes. Did you want to wait at my place?" I asked. "I'll do fine here." She answered. "I'll be back." I said smiling at Bella. She returned my smile as I quickly left the house.


	9. Thirst and problems

I made my way as deep into the forest as I could before I let my hunting instincts run my choice for the type of animal I wanted. As luck would have it, there was a deer not far from here. All that was needed on my part was to wait as usual and pounce when the time was right. Sure enough the deer came running in my direction as I snatched it from midair. I drained the animal of its blood and I finally felt able to go back to Bella without feeling thirsty. At that moment I caught the thoughts of someone unknown and looked in the immediate direction. "Hi." The woman said calmly as she emerged from the bushes. I didn't say anything. I just looked at her with a confused face. "I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Abigail." She said calmly. "I'm Edward." I said directly in response. "I didn't think I'd find another one of my kind out here." She said surprised. "What brings you to forks?" I asked knowing she wasn't from around here and fairly new to being a vampire.

"The hikers." She smiled.

I growled at her response. "Hey… what did I say?" She sounded scared. "You're the type of vampire that gives me and my family a hard time. We don't hunt humans and we live in this area." I said still angry at her response. Her face became curious at this point. "So what do you hunt?" She asked truthfully. "Animals." I answered. "Why don't you hunt humans?" She asked confused. "It's part of the agreement for permanent residence in forks." I responded. Before she spoke, I was searching her thoughts. She felt guilty about killing a hiker a few hours ago. "That'll cause us some problems." I said annoyed. "What will? You mean that hiker? How did you know about that?" She said surprised. "It's part of my abilities." I answered. Recollecting my thoughts, it would seem she was part of the reason why Charlie will be out late today. He must've caught wind of that dead hiker. "This sounds interesting. Can I see your permanent residence?" She asked. Before I got to answer her question, a familiar face showed up next to me. "Alice?" I said confused. "It's Bella. Get back to Charlie's!" Alice said loudly. I didn't bother to ask and I knew by Alice's thoughts that she would tend to Abigail. I ran back as quickly as I could and arrived at Charlie's front door. It appeared to be broken down and Bella sat at the top of the stairs next to… Jacob Black. By reading his thoughts I knew exactly what happened. I walked in glaring angrily at Jacob and Bella quickly saw me as I entered.

"Where are they now?" I asked looking for the humans that broke in.

"My pack is following them." Jacob admitted. Bella got up from Jacob and came downstairs to hug me. "I was so scared. I ran into my room and they followed me up. They would have gotten in if Jacob didn't scare them off." Bella said still shaking. Jacob proceeded to climb downstairs and stopped outside the front door. "And where were you, bloodsucker?" He said with hatred in his tone. "I was hunting." I said not paying any attention to him anymore. I blocked out his thoughts completely as my attention focused on comforting Bella. "Hunting, huh?" Jacob said with an angry tone turning around to look at me. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about a dead hiker, now would you?" Jacob said with convicting eyes. I returned his glare and shook my head. "I only hunt animals." I said with irritation. Jacob wasn't convinced as he clenched his hands into a ball and his hatred was soaring against me. "This probably isn't the best time to let your emotions get the best of you." I growled while holding Bella. Jacob seemed to calm down at the sight of the frightened Bella. He knew that she went through enough as it is and stopped himself from overreacting. Bella finally snapped to reality and looked at both of us.

"Is everything all right?" Bella asked still shocked about what happened.

"We're fine. It's you I'm worried about." I answered her with true concern. "Thank you Jacob and Edward." Bella said while reaching out to touch Jacob's hand since I was already holding her. At this point I wasn't going to deny Bella of anything because it just might make things worse. Jacob walked up slowly to touch her hand lightly. "You're welcome." He said with a smile and then glared at me with disapproval thoughts racing through his mind. Alice appeared behind Jacob and sighed with relief at Bella being ok. Jacob turned around to look at Alice and then remembered he had to go check on his pack. "I'm going with you. This is my problem too." I said angrily towards Jacob. "Whatever." Jacob said as he ran towards his pack's direction. "Alice, take care of Bella. I need to solve this." I said still angry at what happened. Alice nodded and took Bella from my arms slowly. "Please be careful." Bella whispered. I left the house and followed Jacob's direction as he followed his own pack. As I was trailing Jacob's wolf form, I noticed the smell of blood. It was faint, but only getting stronger the closer I got. It was human blood. I was certain that the woman Abigail was at my place, so this couldn't be her doing. I reached the small dimly lit house and seen Jacob's human form standing there shocked. I knew the name of that lone wolf from Jacob's thoughts. Apparently this Paul was apart of Jacob's pack and had slaughtered the two men responsible for breaking into Charlie's house. Paul turned into a human and was stunned at his own actions as well.

"I don't know what happened." Paul admitted.

Jacob didn't say anything and nor did I. I couldn't figure out what this meant for the treaty. We were not to bite or kill humans, but did the other side have that restriction as well? Just then a larger wolf came storming out from the forest in Paul's direction. Paul transformed quickly in his own defense as the bigger wolf knocked him away from the scene. They both transformed into humans and like before, I knew the other wolf was named Sam through Jacob's thoughts. I didn't bother to say anything as I knew this was something they had to work out on their own. Paul looked in Sam's direction and Sam shook his head. "We're supposed to set an example as protectors. Not slaughter when we feel like it. These men did nothing to deserve this. It was only our job to find out their location and apprehend them if possible." Sam said in a serious tone. Paul didn't respond and Jacob stood still a few feet away from me looking in their direction.

"You know the rules to live by. Make a choice." Sam said with slight sadness.

"I'm not about to leave this pack to find another. I'd rather die than leave these memories!" Paul said in a stressed voice. "It doesn't have to be this way Paul. Don't make us do this." Sam said in a pleading tone. Paul clenched his fists and leaned slightly forward. "I will not be kicked out of the pack alive!" Paul yelled in anger. When he said that, he lunged forward in Sam's direction immediately turning into a wolf. Sam also changed as he pushed Paul back before clashing with him again. I turned to Jacob as he watched with tears in his eyes. He knew his role in this as he sprint forward as well heading directly for Paul's neck. In a matter of minutes, Paul was dead. It was at this point that I didn't bother to stick around because I was sure they'd handle the scene here. I made my way quickly back to Charlie's house and entered through the broken door again. Alice was comforting Bella on her couch faced towards the television, so I made my way to the front of them. Bella was looking towards the floor as Alice let her grip away from Bella's shoulder and gestured me to take a seat. Bella looked in Alice's direction confused and then turned her direction towards me. I sat next to Bella on the couch as she hugged me tightly.

"Did they find him?" Bella asked lightly while looking at me with a curious face.

"They sure did." I looked irritated. "What happened when they did?" She asked still curious. "This isn't something we should cover right now. Charlie just arrived." I said while catching his panicked thoughts. Bella shot upright and released her hug from me. She got up and glanced at the doorway and I got up as well. I walked to the other side of the couch to give the panicked Charlie some room to know Bella is ok. I knew he planned on hugging her at this point and moving was a good idea. Charlie came storming in breathless. "What happened! Bells!" Charlie called looking in all directions until he spotted Bella standing in front of the couch. He didn't bother to look at Alice or me as he ran to Bella's side. "Are you okay, honey?" He said as he pulled Bella in for a hug. "I'm fine now, dad." She noted while looking in my direction. "Where did the men get to?" Charlie asked looking in my direction. Bella tapped Charlie's chest with her hand and took his attention away from me. "They got away, dad. But they didn't do anything to me thanks to Jacob… and Edward." She said with relief on her face.

"Don't worry Bella. We'll find them." Charlie said confidently.

Bella loosened the hug as she proceeded to sit down on the couch again. Charlie looked in my direction and crossed his arms. "Thanks, kid. If you see Jacob, extend my thanks to him as well." He said with sincere appreciation. I nodded and looked in Alice's direction. Charlie followed my eyes and didn't seem to notice Alice standing there quietly. "I'm sorry. Were you helping too?" Charlie said half embarrassed. "It's ok. I was just here to help calm her down." Alice said with a smile. "We should get going, Alice." I said while pointing at the clock. It just so happened to be 8 at night. Alice nodded and walked towards the front door. "Thanks Alice." Bella said turning to her direction with a smile. "Anytime." Alice returned the smile and walked outside waiting for me. I ducked my head over the couch to see Bella's face. "I'll be back early in the morning. I have to talk to Carlisle about what happened." I whispered to her. Bella turned her head slightly to me and nodded. Before I pulled away from her, she put her hand on my head and pressed her head lightly against mine. Charlie seemed annoyed at that, but I didn't care. It made her happy enough to let me go for the day.

"Bye." I said calmly to Charlie.

Charlie just nodded in my direction and I turned walking away to where Alice waited. I made it outside and Alice was waiting while looking in my direction. We didn't say anything as we walked to my car and left Charlie's house. We were driving when Alice finally decided to look in my direction. "I guess this is serious then?" Alice asked. I knew she could tell how this was going to play out and I just nodded my head in response. "A face to face discussion with the wolves… exciting…" Alice said blankly. We reached our house as both me and Alice got out of the car. We made it to the front door and entered the house shortly after. Carlisle was up in his room as I gestured Alice to go up. "You should explain things to Carlisle and convince him to meet me in the living room." I said seriously. Alice nodded and walked upstairs. I didn't bother listening in as I walked to the living room. I called everyone and they came shortly after. "What's going on, man?" Emmett asked confused. Jasper just leaned on the wall near the doorway with his arms crossed. Rosalie and Esme were standing next to each other waiting for a response from me. "We're going to wait for Carlisle and Alice before we begin." I noted. We stood waiting for a while before Carlisle entered our area with Alice. I remembered one question I neglected to ask, so I decided to tackle that issue while everyone was here. We all took our seats on the large table and I looked in Carlisle's direction. "What happened to that woman, Abigail?" I asked. I wanted Carlisle to say this out loud instead of just reading his mind and keeping quiet. Carlisle looked at me oddly before he decided to speak.

"We sent her to the Volturi. She didn't take much interest in our lifestyle after I explained things." Carlisle responded calmly.

I stood up from my chair and placed my hands on the table. "Now it's time to tackle the reason why we've gathered. I'll let Carlisle take point here." I said sitting back down. Carlisle nodded and stood up. "It appears the treaty has been threatened, but not by us. It seems the other side has some explaining to do." Carlisle said calmly. "So what does that mean for us?" Jasper said while waving his hand in the air quickly. "I'm getting to that." Carlisle said slightly annoyed at the interruption. Jasper nodded and waited for Carlisle to finish. "It seems we're going to have to meet them face to face. We're going to have to travel to one of their elders that goes by the name of ""Billy."" Carlisle said with a bit of aggression. Everyone nodded except for Rosalie. "I don't really feel like going." She admitted. "She doesn't feel obligated." I said reading her thoughts. "That's fine. We have to go meet them today, however. This cannot wait." Carlisle said calmly. Everyone else got up at that very moment and we all made our exits outside the front and back door.


	10. The Meeting

We were all running towards Billy's place soon after. We made it to the house in good time as we all stopped in a line several yards short of the front door. Carlisle was the only one to walk up and knock as we all waited for the door to open still in the same spot. Only one man was in the house and I assumed that was Billy as he opened the door to see Carlisle standing there. He had on a surprised look that quickly turned to irritation. "What brings you here?" Billy demanded changing his direction to the rest of us standing in wait. "It would seem that one of yours has attacked humans to which you forbid us in doing ourselves. We would like to discuss the fairness in this issue." Carlisle said calmly. "You know the treaty applies to only your kind, right?" Billy corrected. "That's where the fairness issue comes in. We've been restricted for so long and to know one of your own killed humans insults our efforts." Carlisle said slightly irritated. "Fine. We can discuss this. But it doesn't look like I have the room to fit everyone for this meeting. We'll have to do this out here." Billy said annoyed.

"That's fine with us." Carlisle said with gratitude while turning to walk back into formation with us.

"The weather will be kind to us today. This'll go smoothly." Alice said with a smile while looking towards the sky. At this point the sky was dark, but Billy's house provided enough light around our area, so we didn't have to focus too much on surroundings. Billy waited at the doorway of his house as we stayed in the same position. All of us looked in the direction of the trees as Jacob came walking out slowly. He stopped at the sight of us with surprise and fears of what our intentions were. Jacob slowly walked to his front door not taking his eyes off of us until he got close enough to see Billy in the doorway. "It's all right Jacob. We're conducting a civil meeting to discuss the treaty." Billy assured him. Jacob didn't respond quickly. He took a moment to pause trying to recall what happened to provoke this. He remembered what Paul did and just shook his head. "What do you want me to do?" He asked Billy.

"Gather everyone in this location." Billy said in a serious tone.

Jacob entered inside the house and wheeled Billy in front of us. He then rushed out into the woods soon after. It wasn't long before he came back to Billy's side again. "They're coming." Jacob said looking directly at us with a tense stance. Three other men came walking through the same spot Jacob entered as they approached Billy's side as well. "Sam's taking the leadership role here." Billy said gesturing Sam to stand forward in front of them all. "I'm representing our side." Carlisle said already in front of us all. "First let us discuss the problem at hand here." Carlisle asserted clearly. "One of your own has killed two humans." He added. "We are well aware of what happened and have taken care of the one responsible." Sam said with sadness in his eyes. "Clarify how you've "taken care" of the problem." Carlisle asked irritated by trivial responses.

"He means he killed the one responsible." I said knowing Sam didn't want to say it himself in clear words.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but this doesn't change the potential of another one of your own repeating this situation." Carlisle said calmly. "You need to give us more credit for our efforts. A slip up like this hasn't happened in a long while." Sam said irritated. "So how do we plan to fix this then? We're willing to let this go for a compromise." Carlisle asserted with confidence. I read Carlisle's mind and knew exactly what he wanted in exchange for their misstep. "And what would that be?" Sam asked concerned and pleased it would re-new the treaty. "You'll have to give me a moment while I discuss this with Edward." Carlisle said gesturing his hand to me. "Fine." Sam agreed. Carlisle turned and walked up to me. "Let's hear it." I said gesturing to our side. Carlisle nodded and knew I wanted them to hear this as well. "I'm going to ask them to make an exception to the rule. I'm going to force them to agree to us in allowing Bella to become a Cullen." Carlisle said just enough for only us to hear. I nodded in agreement. "Are you crazy?" Alice said confused. "I'm not saying we're going to transform Bella for certain, but I want the option there in case either Edward or Bella wants it done here." Carlisle added.

"That makes sense." Jasper said while looking at Alice.

"…Okay." Alice agreed still with doubt. "Do you think this kind of agreement is something they'd go with?" Emmett asked concerned. "If they want us to forget this ever happened, they shouldn't think twice." Carlisle said confidently. "You know you're more cynical than I give you credit for." I joked. Carlisle smiled and turned his attention back to Sam. Carlisle walked closer and Sam waited for a response. "We ask that you make an exception to the rule." Carlisle said calmly. "What kind of exception?" Sam asked concerned. "You allow us to bite one individual. We have a special request from someone that wants to be just like us." Carlisle admitted. "You want US to allow you to bite someone?" Sam asked appalled. "It's reasonable at this point. Otherwise the treaty is off." Carlisle threatened. Sam clenched his hands into a ball and grumbled. "Fine!" Sam agreed against his own will. Jacob flinched at the thought, but didn't say anything out loud. "We don't plan to kill the requester, so don't worry about that part." Carlisle assured them. "Are we done here?" Sam asked eager to leave at this point. "Yes we are. I'm hoping we don't have another meeting like this again." Carlisle said with a sincere tone. No one said anything beyond that as everyone began to depart. Myself included. We made it back to our place quickly as usual. Esme and Carlisle entered first and the rest of us followed. Rosalie was standing out back leaning on the railing and looking forward. Emmett walked himself to her side and they both began talking. Jasper and Alice went to sit in the living room. Esme and Carlisle stopped themselves from walking up to look directly at me. "Something on your mind, Edward?" Carlisle asked. I wasn't looking up at him at first, but I turned my attention to him when he asked.

"That was pretty crafty of you." I laughed lightly.

Carlisle smiled and waved his hand in the air. "I did it for Bella's interests and even your own." He admitted. "I guess you expect thanks from me?" I asked. "Not really. I'm surprised you aren't angry with me right now." Carlisle said calmly. "Bella has made it clear that I cannot change her mind on this, so getting angry would be pretty futile of me." I admitted blankly. Esme walked up to me and placed her arms on my shoulders. "It's not like she's leaving us. You should see it as a compliment that she wants to turn into us to be with you, always." Esme said kissing my forehead lightly and going back to Carlisle. "She has a point, you know. Bella wanting to do this means she truly desires to be with you forever." Carlisle said in agreement with Esme. "I'm still not very fond of the idea." I admitted. Carlisle nodded and Esme smiled at me. They both walked upstairs soon after. Alice got up from Jasper's side and walked up to me. "Shouldn't you be with Bella right now?" She asked.

"I guess I should be." I answered while turning to leave the house.

I opened the front door and walked out. Alice closed the door for me and I just sprinted towards Charlie's house. It didn't take me long to run up to Bella's window once more. I didn't see her inside the room, nor was she around Charlie as I read his mind. At this point, I just entered the room and leaned my back on the wall next to the window. The doorknob turned and Bella entered. Her eyes instantly locked onto where I was and she stood stiff in shock. "Don't worry. It's just me." I said smiling as I pushed myself slowly from the wall. "Oh." Bella said with a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind her. She turned around and I was instantly standing in front of her. She jumped and I grabbed her shoulders lightly. "I guess you're still traumatized by what happened before.' I sighed. Bella nodded and I let go of her shoulders. "Those guys are done. You don't need to worry about them anymore." I admitted. We stood there staring into each other's eyes before she decided to hug me. "Can you tell me what happened when you left?" She asked while pulling away lightly from me. "Fine. But we'll have to go to the bed. I don't think anyone would like standing for this." I said blankly. We both walked towards the bed, parted ways, and sat on each side facing each other. We didn't lie down, we just sat upright as Bella gazed at me with curious eyes. "So it appears those men that broke into this house have been killed." I said breaking the silence. Bella gave me a worried look. "I didn't kill them." I said calling out her face. "Then… who did?" She asked confused. "It was one of those wolves." I answered. "Jacob?" Bella asked with worry again. "No. He was with me with it occurred." I answered. "So who did?" She asked.

"It was Paul. Apparently one of the more lively of the bunch." I admitted.

"He killed those men?" Bella asked surprised, but she looked a bit satisfied at the results as her mood loosened up. "Yes. Two members of the pack had to make sure to handle his carelessness accordingly. Jacob and Sam both killed Paul." I said calmly. "They what!" Bella said loudly. "It was either death or Paul be removed from the pack. He made the choice and they had to enforce their rules." I added. "So… Jacob had to kill one of us own? How… sad." She was saddened at the thought. "When I left you to go talk to Carlisle, this information peaked his interests. We called a meeting between us and the wolves soon after." I said calmly. "A meeting for what? I thought you weren't supposed to step on their land?" She asked confused. "The treaty restricted us from doing that, yes. But when they killed _humans_, Carlisle saw fit to consult their behavior. Since we are restricted from harming any human ourselves, we felt betrayed of our efforts. The treaty was already hanging in the balance, so we stepped on their land with good reason." I said slightly irritated. "So… what happened at the meeting?" She asked concerned. "We were willing to let this go for a favor." I answered.

"Favor? What kind of favor?" She asked moving closer to me.

I didn't answer quickly. I just stared at her without expression before sighing and grabbing her hands. "Carlisle took charge of the situation and forced them to an agreement. He asked them to make an exception to the rule. He asked for us to be allowed the biting of one human." I said without expression. "One human?" She asked confused. "Yes one human… _you._" I said annoyed at the idea. "Carlisle… made them agree to let me become one of you?" She asked with slight enthusiasm. "I'm still not happy with the idea, but Carlisle said it was for optional purposes." I admitted. I let go of Bella's hands and sighed. She looked at me with a smile and hugged me. I returned the hug confused. "Thank you." She said happily. "It was Carlisle's decision. Thank him." I noted. "But you didn't object to his decision and I really appreciate that." She said pulling herself lightly from me and looking into my eyes. I smiled but not because of her appreciation. I started to finally appreciate what Carlisle and Esme said about Bella wanting to be one of us. Bella was serious about being with me forever… even at the cost of her own soul. I put my hands on the side of Bella's face and kissed her lightly. She kept her smile as I pulled away slowly. "I think it's time you went to sleep." I noted. Bella nodded as we broke free from our hug. She lied down and I did the same next to her. "Sleep well." I whispered to her. "I'll try." She said before closing her eyes. She fell asleep facing my body. I just stared at her beautiful face before turning my body to face the roof. She pressed her arm over my chest instinctively. I sighed and waited for her to wake up once more.


	11. Rainfall

As Bella rested during the night, Charlie was planning on entering the room as he climbed the stairs. I was going to pull myself away from Bella, but Charlie changed his mind and walked past her door towards his room. I took my attention away from him as I gazed at Bella's restful face again. It was apparent that she wasn't having more nightmares. As the hours ticked by, her resting was never interrupted through mumbles. I noticed it was 7AM, but the skies didn't match the time of day. It was dark out, so I could only guess today would be riddled with rainfall. It wasn't long after I guessed before the window sounded like it was being struck with tiny rocks. It began to rain much louder as I turned my attention away from the window to Bella once more. She was slowly awakening as she lightly pulled herself away from me. A rumble in the sky indicated there would be a strike of thunder as far as I could tell. A loud striking roar struck a tree in the distance, but the noise was loud enough for Bella's eyes to flash open and sit up as she looked at me with a scared face. I sat up as well and looked at her with a smile.

"Don't worry. There appears to be a thunderstorm today." I said assuring her of the noise.

Bella grumbled, grabbed her pillow, put it over her face, and dropped herself on the bed again. "What's the matter?" I asked confused. Bella removed the pillow from her face and turned her head to look at me. "Remember at school… when I told you I hate cold and wet things?" She asked. I looked at her confused for a moment and then switched my attitude to a light laugh. "I forgot about that. You must really detest this weather." I said laughing lightly again. "It's not funny, Edward." She said annoyed. "So what's a little cold water?" I joked. "It means I just want to stay indoors today." She said still annoyed. "At least now I can tell this day will turn out nicely. We'll be stuck in your place today thanks to the rainfall." I said smiling. "Yeah… all thanks to the RAIN." She said still annoyed.

"There's no telling how long it'll last though." I noted.

"Don't say that." She warned. "All right. So are you going to go get ready?" I said changing the subject. Bella got up from the bed slowly as she trailed to her closet. She found her select items, turned to face me with clothes in one arm and waved before leaving the room. I waited for her to come back while keeping my seat in the same spot on her bed. Charlie finally awakened as he got up slowly and trailed to the bathroom door. He stopped, noticing the light below the door and proceeded to knock. "Bells?" Charlie called. "I'll just be a moment dad!" Bella said loudly. "That's ok. I'll wait." He said while planning to lean on the wall facing the door directly. It was a while before Bella was finally finished and opened the door to exit. Charlie was irritated, but he was apparently good at hiding that fact. "Sorry I took so long." Bella said. "No it's fine. You were actually faster than I expected." He said trying to lighten his mood and Bella's. She laughed as he proceeded to enter the bathroom with a lighter mood as well. She made her way back into her room and I waved at her with a smile.

"So it looks like I'll be outside your front door now?" I asked.

"No, wait." Bella said gesturing towards the window. I looked at her confused as she walked to her closet again searching for something. She pulled out an Umbrella, walked up to me, and placed it in my hand. "What do I need this for?" I asked still confused. "I know you can outrun the rain drops… but this is for added effects." Bella said smiling. I tried to open the Umbrella to see if it worked and Bella put her hand around it. "Don't do that! It's bad luck!" She whispered loudly. "Oh! We don't want that now, do we? You already have enough bad luck." I laughed. Bella sighed and signaled me to go outside the window. I nodded and went around to her front door through the window as planned. Before I knocked I remembered what Bella said about the added effect. I opened the Umbrella and placed it under the rain to cause the effect. I then closed the Umbrella and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" Bella said loudly as she climbed down the stairs.

Charlie didn't seem to notice anything that was going on since he was still in the bathroom with the water on. I assumed he was showering. Bella opened the door and smiled at me. "Come in." She said gesturing me towards the couch in the living room. I smiled back as I walked in halfway before stopping. I turned around and looked at Bella while shaking the Umbrella lightly. "And where does this go?" I asked confused. Bella took the Umbrella from my hand and went upstairs. I didn't follow her, so I just waited at the end of the stairs for her to come back. Bella began rushing downstairs and lost her balance with a careless step. I rushed forward and caught her before she could tumble towards me. "Oops." She said embarrassed. "Stairs… even inanimate objects are working against you." I said with a smile. "I can take it from here." Bella said annoyed while trying to push me from her. "I'm sorry." I said while letting her go. She didn't say anything as she carefully walked downstairs and I followed keeping pace with her. She walked towards the living room still annoyed and gestured me to sit on the couch. I placed my hand on the top of the couch and stopped.

"Bella?" I called.

She stopped herself from going to the kitchen, but didn't turn to look at me. "Can you please look at me?" I pleaded. She slowly turned to look at me with a tense face. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." I said while lifting my hand from the couch and walking up to her. I got close enough to her before stopping to look directly in her eyes. She sighed and I pulled her in for a hug. She didn't return my hug quickly, but she eventually returned the favor. "Forgiven." She whispered. "I have to make some breakfast, so could you wait a while in here?" She asked. "Sure." I said while letting my grip go and turning around to walk to the couch. Bella entered the kitchen and Charlie exited the bathroom. He slowly descended downstairs and I knew he'd see me eventually. I got up from the couch and turned to face his direction hoping to make my presence known as lightly as possible. Charlie made it downstairs and entered the living room looking down at the floor.

"Good morning sir." I greeted calmly.

Charlie shot his attention in my direction with a confused look. "What are you doing in here?" He demanded. "Bella invited me in. She's in the kitchen cooking breakfast." I said still calm. "Oh she did? Fine." He said annoyed. I turned my direction away from him and sat on the couch quietly. Charlie didn't bother speaking to me any longer, so he just made his way to the kitchen. "What's cookin' Bells?" Charlie asked while taking in a deep breath. "The usual." She answered happily. "I'll be in the living room with Edward." Charlie said slightly irritated at the thought.

"Okay… I'll bring your share when it's done." She said with slight worry.

I was guessing she didn't see it as much of a plus to leave Charlie and me alone. Charlie walked out of the kitchen and proceeded to sit down in the couch directly in front of the television. I didn't look at him and he didn't look at me. He just grabbed the remote that was jammed in the couch and turned the television on. I didn't pay any attention to the television, but I did make it seem like I was watching it. I took this moment to reflect on everything that happened yesterday. Some time passed before Bella came walking out of the kitchen with Charlie's plate of food. I was irritated that he still didn't want to use the kitchen, but I didn't show it. Bella handed him the food and looked at me for a moment. She beckoned me to follow her and I got up from the couch. She had her plate of food on the table already and she took her seat in front of it. I didn't bother to sit down this time. I just leaned on the wall near the table and turned my head in Bella's direction. She didn't mind as she smiled at me before eating her food. I didn't bother to say anything while she was eating, so she went through her meal at a normal pace. She got up and put her dishes in the sink. She turned around and put her arms on the edge of the sink looking directly at me.

"So what do we do?" She asked concerned.

"It doesn't look like the weather is going to slow down." I said blankly. "What does that have to do with my question?" She asked confused. "It's code for I don't know." I smiled. She laughed lightly as she walked up to me and grabbed my hands. "I have an idea." She smiled at me. I looked at her confused as she let my hands go. "Wait here. I'm going to bring some papers and a pencil." She said still smiling. "I'll be here." I assured her as she turned to walk away. I followed the noise of her footsteps and she went upstairs. Several minutes passed before I heard the stairs being trailed down. I could hear the papers being shaken as she was walking towards the kitchen. I stopped leaning on the wall and waited for her to enter. Bella entered the kitchen, winked at me, and then placed the papers on the table keeping the pencil in her hand. She moved the table chair and placed two of them together. "Have a seat." She said happily.

"What's the plan?" I asked confused.

"We're going to play a game called Hangman." She said while I sat down next to her. "Hangman? What kind of game is that?" I asked still confused. "I draw this." She said while drawing lines on the paper. "What is that supposed to be?" I asked while looking at the lines she drew confused. "Hopefully, it won't be the death of our man." Bella laughed lightly. She proceeded to draw 5 separate lines below the connecting lines she drew above. "What's that now?" I asked even more confused. "It's a secret word." She smiled. "So why is it called hangman again?" I remained confused. "You see those connecting lines?" She asked. "Yes." I answered. "This is where the man will be hanged if you don't decode my secret word properly." She said poking me in the arm with the eraser. "You're going to draw a hanged man if I don't guess properly? That's a bit extreme, don't you think?" I said worried. "It's just a game. Would you just try it with me?" She pleaded. "Fine. We'll see how this demented game works." I agreed. "Ok. Now comes your part." She said smiling. I looked at her confused again.

"You have to guess a single letter in hopes that it's apart of my secret word." She explained.

I didn't bother arguing anything, so I just went with it. "P." I said blankly. "Nope!" She said while taking her pencil and drawing a circle at the end of the connecting lines. "What's that supposed to be?" I asked. "The man's head." She answered with slight laughter. "You're going to draw him in limb pieces each time I get a wrong letter?" I said worried about her mental health. "That's how it works. Now guess again!" She ordered playfully. "R." I said with a slight smile. Bella took her pencil and filled one of the first separate lines with the letter R. "You got one!" She said while rubbing my arm. "I'm trying to save a man here. I'd better get something." I said seriously. Bella laughed and waited for me to guess again. "B." I said eager to know if this brings him closer to death or not. "Nope!" She said while drawing a line below her version of a human head. "What kind of man is this? He's got no structure of a body." I said confused. "It's easier to not get into detail. Guess again!" She said happily. "O." I guessed. Bella took her pencil and filled the second and last divided lines with the letter O. "You got two!" She said happily. I started to loosen up at this point and just decided to humor her instead of stall any longer. "U." I guessed. "Nope!" She said while drawing a curved line connecting from the long straight line below her version of a human head. "M" I guessed. Bella filled in the next separate line with a M. "E." I guessed. Bella glared at me playfully as she filled in the final line with the letter E. I looked at the word it spelled out and sighed.

"Romeo." I said turning my attention to Bella's face.

"Yup. Was that fun?" She asked still smiling. "It was interesting and I will admit it was somewhat fun. I saved a non-existent life on paper." I joked. Bella laughed as she pushed her papers to the side. "It's your turn to come up with something." She said leaning her head on my arm. "I already did." I put my arms around her shoulders. "So your idea is to hold me like this forever?" She said slightly looking up at me. "I can think of nothing better to do indoors." I admitted with a smile. We stayed like this for a while before the storm calmed. The rain stopped, but the clouds remained in the sky. I was under the impression that it was perfect for us to step out, but I wasn't about to be the one to break away just yet.


	12. Spared day

Bella tapped my shoulder lightly and I looked at her confused. "I'm feeling a little… stiff." She said carefully. "I'm sorry." I said letting her go. She got up to stretch her arms and glanced towards the window. "Hey! The rain stopped!" She said smiling and looking down at me on the chair. I got up and returned her smile. "So what do you want to do then?" I asked concerned. "I want to go to your place." She said happily. "Any reason?" I asked. "I just want to visit everyone without reason for once." She said still with delight. "Bells?" Charlie called. Bella took her attention away from me and it looked like she forgot Charlie was even here. "Yes, dad?" She answered. "I'm leaving. If you're going anywhere, don't forget to lock up." Charlie reminded. "All right. Bye dad!" She said loudly. She turned her attention back to me and waited for a response. "I guess we leave too then?" I said confused at her silence.

"You got that right." She smiled.

She walked up to me and wrapped her arm around my waist. She allowed me to guide her out of the kitchen and towards the front door. Charlie finally pulled away from the house as Bella let my waist go and opened the door. The wind blew Bella scent in my direction and I took a deep breath. "Wonderful." I said in appreciation. Bella walked forward a little and turned around to look at me with an annoyed look. She then smiled soon after as I approached her direction. She shut the door and locked it. She turned her direction to face the front area of her house searching for something with her eyes. "Didn't you drive here?" She asked confused. "No." I smiled. "Oh right." She sighed. "Up you go." I said with a smile. Bella positioned herself on my back and I sprinted towards my place. "…Edward." Bella whispered lightly. I slowed my pace to give her time to say something else. "Yes?" I asked. "Oh what? You heard that?" She said embarrassed. "Of course." I answered. "I wasn't calling you directly… just appreciating you." She admitted still embarrassed.

"Appreciating me?" I asked confused.

"Yes." She answered. "Bella." I said. "Huh?" She responded confused. "I'm appreciating you too." I smiled but she couldn't see that. Bella laughed lightly as we finally arrived in front of my house. Bella jumped off of my back and nearly slipped on the wet surface below her. I caught her by her hand and set her in place. "Thanks." She said laughing lightly. I nodded and smiled before opening my front door. I walked in with Bella and stopped to look in her direction. "Lead the way." I said calmly. Bella stood there looking at me for a moment and decided to walk towards our living room. She walked in the middle of the living room and I stopped in the doorway waiting for her to make some kind of move. She turned to smile at me before gesturing towards the couch near her. She proceeded to sit down and I walked to sit next to her as well.

"Hi Emmett."

"Hey, man." Emmett said slightly annoyed of me knowing he was here. "What's up Bella?" He asked walking to Bella's side of the couch. "Hi Emmett." She responded with a smile in his direction. "What brings you?" He asked curious. "I just wanted to stop by and visit everyone." She admitted a little embarrassed. I looked towards the doorway I came from and sighed. Emmett and Bella looked at me confused. "What's wrong?" Bella asked still confused. "Alice knew you were coming… she has something for you." I said blankly. Alice showed up at the doorway with a smile aimed at Bella. "Hi Bella!" She said happily. "Hey Alice." Bella responded with delight and slight worry. "Don't worry. She didn't wrap it." I assured Bella as I turned my attention away from Alice. Emmett smiled and I knew he was aware of what Alice had planned, but he didn't know what she had for Bella. Alice skipped her way next to Emmett and was behind Bella's head. Bella turned her body to face Alice's direction and put her arm on the couch to hold her position there.

"I'm guessing Edward told you I planned this, but I'm hoping he didn't say what I have." She said sounding slightly depressed.

"He didn't." She said reassuring Alice. "Great!" Alice said happily again. I finally turned my attention to Bella and noticed she looked eager to see what Alice had. "Quit stalling." I said glancing at Alice. Alice shot a look at me, but continued to smile. "Here!" She said handing Bella a necklace. Bella's eyes widened as the necklace sparkled in her eyes. "It's beautiful! Thank you!" She said pushing herself up from the couch and turning to look at Alice. "You shouldn't be thanking me." Alice admitted. "Why not?" Bella asked. "Because she didn't make it. Jasper did." I said pointing towards the doorway again. Bella followed my direction and noticed Jasper standing in the doorway. "You made this, Jasper?" Bella asked confused. "Yes, I did." He said walking slowly closer to our position. "It's getting crowded in here. I'm going to go check on Rosalie." Emmett said while leaving the room. "Thank you. It's really beautiful." Bella said while unhooking the necklace and putting it around her neck. "Do you mind, Alice?" She asked.

"Oh sure!" Alice said as she rushed behind Bella and clipped the necklace in place.

I got up from my chair and turned to face Jasper's direction. I looked at him for a moment as he stood there completely still and I looked towards Bella who now focused on him again. I shot my eyes towards Jasper once more. "Now would be the time to tell her why, Jasper." I said calmly. Jasper nodded and turned his attention back to Bella. "It's my apology. For when I tried to… kill you." He admitted with apologetic eyes. Bella was silent for a moment and it appeared she was trying to remember. "Oh… that. It's fine. You guys are naturally attracted to human blood. I know you couldn't control yourself as well as the others." She said with a depressed tone. Jasper smiled but didn't say anything beyond what needed to be said. "It's a really beautiful apology. Thank you very much." Bella admitted with a smile. Alice skipped from Bella's side to Jaspers and they both locked eyes for a moment. Alice turned her attention back to Bella and smiled. "We're going to go. Jasper just needed to make up for his mistake. Thanks for accepting his apology." Alice said still smiling at Bella and proceeding to turn around with Jasper to leave. They exited out of the room and Bella was fiddling with her new necklace of apology.

"Awful nice of him." I said calmly.

Bella turned her attention from her necklace to me as I smiled in her direction. "It's really pretty." She said lifting the necklace up to show me and locking her own eyes on it again as well. Carlisle entered the house and it appeared he just got off from work again. He entered the living room and noticed Bella and I. "Hi Carlisle." I said waving quickly to him. Bella let go of the necklace and turned to face Carlisle's direction. "Ah. I see Jasper has been forgiven." He said with a smile. "He was forgiven before he gave this to me, actually." Bella admitted. "He's been told, but he didn't feel like that was enough for his conscious." Carlisle said calmly. "Before you ask, we're just here for no reason at all." I said catching Carlisle's thought. "That's fine. I always welcome Bella's company." He admitted with a returning smile. "Thank you." Bella said smiling. "I'll be upstairs if either of you two require my attention." He said while turning back to go upstairs. Bella turned to look at me again as I gestured her to sit back down. "This is what we originally planned." I laughed lightly as I proceeded to sit back on the couch. Bella did the same and laughed a little as well.

"How long do you think you can keep sitting here before cramping?" I joked.

Bella looked annoyed, but quickly shook that off before responding. "I can manage. We can't be long anyway because I have to be home soon." She noted. "Right. We don't want to anger the law enforcer." I smiled. Bella laughed lightly and I put my arm around her. We were thirty minutes through just sitting here again before Bella alarmed me of the time by pointing at my clock. "All right then." I said nodding in agreement. I slowly pulled Bella up with me and made our way towards my front door before stopping us both in front of the door. "Is something wrong?" Bella asked me confused. I turned my attention from my front door to her face and smiled. "Carlisle apparently has something to discuss with me, so I'm not going to immediately be with you tonight." I admitted blankly. "Oh… so you're still coming though, right?" She asked concerned. "Of course." I smiled. Bella returned my smile as I proceeded to open my front door. Revealing the darkness. We walked out of the house and I didn't bother to shut the door. "Edward." Carlisle said with his hand on the front door.

"I know. I'll be back." I answered looking back at him.

"Bye Bella." He said calmly. Bella turned her direction to Carlisle and waved with a smile. "We'll take my car this time." I said turning my attention to Bella again as Carlisle shut the front door. We both entered my car and I drove towards Charlie's. "Hey?" Bella asked. "Yes?" I answered keeping my eyes on the road. "What exactly does Carlisle want to talk to you about?" She said concerned. "He wants to discuss my intentions… with you." I answered turning my attention to Bella and then back to the road. "I'd like to know that as well." She admitted. "You'll actually find out when the time comes. He wants to discuss me and you after all." I said smiling. We finally arrived at Charlie's and Bella unbuckled her seatbelt. She turned her attention back to me with a concerned look. "I _will_ be back." I assured her. She smiled at me and exited my car. I kept the headlights on so she could see the ground and her front door easier. Charlie didn't appear to be home, so no lights were on. She unlocked the door and turned to wave at me with a smile. She went inside her house and closed the door. I sighed and rolled down the passenger window.

"Hi Alice." I said slightly irritated.

"Hey. I know Charlie won't be in for a while, so I'll keep watch over Bella while you're away." She admitted with a smile. "Thanks." I returned her smile as Alice proceeded to walk to Charlie's front door and knock. I pulled out not waiting to see how it's going to turn out as I made my way back home. I arrived at my place and exited my car feeling a little resistant to even speak to Carlisle about this. I walked normally to my front door and opened it. Standing just several feet away from me was Carlisle with his arms crossed. "You look hesitant." Carlisle said calmly. I knew he wanted this to be discussed in his room upstairs, so I just pushed myself in that direction and Carlisle followed casually. I made my way to Carlisle's area and opened the door leaving it open for Carlisle to come in as well. I stopped in the middle of the room and turned around to see Carlisle shutting the door behind us. "I guess I'll take point." I said knowing he wanted me to start. Carlisle nodded and walked to his seat behind a desk. He sat there in wait as I chose the words to start with. "I'll be up front about this." I said in a sigh. Carlisle said nothing and continued to wait on me. "I've been convinced that turning Bella into a vampire isn't such a bad thing anymore. But I still can't help but want her to remain human for as long as possible." I said blankly. "Edward… the only thing that accomplishes is prolonging the inevitable. Bella does not appear to want to wait on becoming one of us. You're not only affecting Bella, but also yourself. By you keeping her human, you bring unnecessary anticipating upon yourself. This is going to happen, but the more you stall… the more both of you will suffer." He said calmly. "I know… but I have something I want her to do before I turn her." I said slightly irritated. "Oh? And what might that be?" He said curious.

"I want her to marry me first." I admitted.

Carlisle looked at me with a surprised expression and then smiled soon after. "Have you told her this?" He asked still smiling slightly. "No I haven't. It would have come up eventually though." I said blankly. Carlisle sighed, got up from his chair, and walked up to me. "This isn't the kind of thing that needs to wait. You must inform her of this so she can get a general idea on what you want to experience with her human state." He said putting one hand over my shoulder. "I'll take this up with her as soon as I get back then." I assured him. Carlisle nodded and took his hand from my shoulder. "I guess I'll go let her know now then." I sighed. Carlisle smiled at me in agreement as he stepped to the side allowing me to exit. I walked down the stairs and made my way outside of the house again.


	13. Closed Curtains

I got into my car and made my way back to Charlie's. I knew Charlie was at his place now by his thoughts, but I parked my car normally anyway. Alice remained in there as well because it seems Charlie was more than willing to allow this. I figured Alice could take my car home for me anyway, since as far as I could tell, Charlie doesn't pay much attention to the little details. I got out of my car and turned my direction behind me. "I see you found out who killed that hiker." I said with an angry tone. "Yeah we did. Where is she?" Jacob asked slightly demanding. "She is no longer here in forks. She's focused her attention elsewhere." I admitted. Jacob grunted and turned back into the forest to alarm his pack. I didn't care too much about him, so I just made my way to Bella's window. Alice had apparently caught my intentions as she already had Bella in the room waiting on the bed. Alice waved to me and Bella turned her attention at me in response. I sighed and opened the window casually as I entered. Alice lifted Bella up at the same time as she got up herself.

"Bella and I have some things to discuss." I admitted gesturing Alice to leave.

"Oh sure." Alice said letting go of Bella and proceeded towards Bella's room door, since Charlie had to see her leave. "Alice?" Bella called. "Yes?" Alice said turning her attention to Bella. "Thanks for staying." Bella said with a smile. "No problem." Alice returned the smile and then glanced at me. I smiled at Alice for her efforts as well then she finally left the room to climb downstairs and exit normally. I shut the window and turned my attention to Bella. "We should sit down." I said gesturing to the side of Bella's bed. She nodded in agreement as we both sat down next to each other facing towards her room door. I sighed not looking directly at Bella for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked in confusion.

I turned towards her and stared at her face. I tried to analyze her expression before asking my question. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked curious to see if her decision has changed. "There's nothing you can do to stop me." She responded already aware of what I was asking. I looked down as I rubbed my forehead slightly. I turned my attention back to Bella with no expression. "There's something I want to ask before your death comes about." I noted. "Don't refer to it like that!" She hissed trying her best not to alarm Charlie downstairs. "I want you to do something for me." I said ignoring her response. "And that would be?" She said still slightly irritated by my last response. "I want you to marry me first." I said wasting no time. "What?" She said alarmed by my forwardness. I smiled at her varying facial expressions as I waited for her to come up with another response.

"Are you serious?" She asked looking directly at me with cautious eyes.

"I couldn't be more." I responded. "Do you have any idea on how you would pull off such a thing? You're impossible!" She hissed still compressed for Charlie's sake. "Carlisle knows how to handle things for us. Should you agree to this, of course." I said with a reassuring tone. "I need some time to think about this…" She responded. "It didn't take you long to condemn yourself to an eternity of being one of us, but marriage gets you thinking?" I said confused. "It's my mom. She's pretty strict about marriages at a young age." She answered. "And why would that be?" I asked curious. "She told me that young couples that get married are twice as likely to divorce later on down the line." She responded confidently. "This isn't just some ordinary marriage, you know. I think we can be the exception." I said smiling. "You're not going to stop until you get an answer. Are you?" She said slightly annoyed. "Nope." I responded still smiling. "Can I just have a few seconds to think about it while you're here?" She asked. "Sure. I wouldn't want you to feel rushed." I said with slight laughter. Bella smiled at my response because she did feel rushed. "All right then. What's the verdict?" I said after a few seconds.

"… Yes." She responded with a cautious look.

I grabbed Bella's hands as she looked in my eyes. I moved close to her face and slightly smiled. "You know this won't change things between us. We'll still be the same as we are right now." I said letting go of her hands. I placed my hands on both sides of her face and waited for her response. "I know. I want you to be happy too…" She whispered as she kissed me. We broke away slowly. "I think it's time you went to sleep now." I urged lightly. "…What?" She responded a little dazed.

"Oh, right." She said laughing a little.

The night seemed to have flown by quickly as Bella slept quietly in her bed next to me. The sun started to rise into the clouds as Bella yawned and awoke herself to peek at the window. She stretched out her arms and hugged me for a moment. I knew she didn't like talking in the morning, so I just smiled. She broke away from me slowly and made her way to her closet. I sat up from her bed as she gathered her clothes and headed to the bathroom. I stood up and looked out the window. It seemed Charlie was on top of things as he planned to discuss colleges with Bella as soon as she was at the breakfast table. I sighed and ignored this fact, but there was nothing I could do to warn Bella of the coming annoyance of applying for Colleges at the moment. Charlie's footsteps made their way downstairs as Bella was still preparing herself for the day. I heard the water shut off and turned my attention from the window to Bella's room door. She opened her room door shortly after the water shut off and entered the room with towel dried hair.

"Colleges." I said blankly.

"Oh no! I forgot about that!" Bella said with condensed alarm. "It's fine. Charlie's on top of it. He wants to discuss it with you when you eat breakfast, actually." I alerted her. "This will be fun." She sighed. "Do you want me to attend? I can magically show up at your front door." I said trying to ease the annoyance. "I would prefer it." She responded with a slight smile. "He's waiting. And it appears he's mastered making a meal." I joked. "Oh? What kind?" She asked curious.

"It's bowls for cereal. He's got one for himself and one for you." I laughed lightly.

"I guess I have to humor him." She responded with a blank face. "It'll help things move along." I assured her. "Here we go." She said turning around to leave her room. I was already at the front door knocking before she left her room. "I got it!" Bella said loudly while climbing down the stairs. She opened the door and greeted me with an anxious smile. "I hope I'm not intruding." I said with a smile. "That damn kid has annoying timing." Charlie said to himself. "Not at all. Come in. Are you hungry?" Bella said inviting me in with a smile. We both made our way to the kitchen to see Charlie sitting there with the newspaper covering his face. The two bowls rested on the table for Bella and Charlie. "Oh, hey dad." Bella said trying to mask the fact of her knowing he was there.

"Hey, Bells." He responded lifting the paper down while flicking his eyes to my direction in one quick motion.

Bella looked at the table and acknowledged the milk, cereal, bowls, and spoons silently. "Is this bowl mine?" She asked Charlie. "Oh, right." Charlie responded folding up the paper and placing it next to his bowl on the table. Before Bella reached for her bowl, Charlie stood up from his chair and grabbed the cereal and milk from the table. Bella looked confused, but I knew what he was doing. "I didn't know there would be company. I can't expect Edward here to eat cereal too. Maybe you can make us something more suitable?" Charlie asked Bella while quick glancing at me again. "Oh… sure." She responded. Charlie put the items away and put his focus on the empty dishes. Bella grabbed them and handed them to Charlie. "Thanks." He responded to the gesture. As he placed the items back where he got them from, he turned his attention to me. "Edward, do you already have a college lined up." He asked breaking in the topic between Bella and him. "No, sir. But Carlisle is helping me locate one." I said lying about the fact. "Then maybe you can help Bells find one too. I'm sure Carlisle knows some nice colleges based on his level of education." Charlie admitted with slight appreciation for my association with Carlisle. It seemed he was relieved about not having to discuss this with Bella directly.

"I'm sure he can work something out, sir." I answered.

"Great. I'll be in the living room." He said hinting at Bella to cook. Bella and I went quiet for the time taken to cook the meal. She avoided making me something and I appreciated that. She got the servings out to Charlie and came back to where I waited. I walked myself to the table where Charlie once sat and smiled in Bella's direction. She returned the smile before turning around to prepare her plate of food. She walked herself to her table and sat down. "Thanks for helping me avoid that awkward conversation over a bowl of cereal." She said smiling at me. "Don't thank me. Thank Carlisle." I laughed a little. "He will help me find a college, right? So I can get my dad off my back?" She asked concerned. "Of course he will. Or he can fabricate a college for you if you just want to do that thing." I said lightly to avoid Charlie's ears. "We'll figure that out later." She said quietly. Bella finished her meal and we made our way outside of Charlie's house. We had a lot of obstacles to face. Taking in everything we had to do, it made everything else that happened in the past look easier for us. However this new road shapes up, we'll still find a way to stay on it. We have to.


End file.
